Abstract Lucidity
by Diluculo
Summary: AU: :T for blood and language: :Spoilers to the trip to the core: He had more than enough reason to trust Van... So why not? Ion had every advantage on his side when he joined the commandant... :Thanks to Lanane and Apakoha for betaing!:
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer:** Well, let's see. This happens to be on and also a story about Tales of the Abyss. _ Fan_. Okay, point is, I don't own the game, the characters, anything—as much as I wish I did. So, if anyone honestly thinks I own the game, I give the rest of the world permission to throw large, blunt objects at said offender. Because that's seriously offensive to the REAL creators of the game—comparing them to me, that is ;) You get the point.

Thanks to all who gave me ideas for this fic. And, of course, to all who review. Much appreciated! I'll shut up now.

* * *

"_No," Ion pushed his heavily ornamented chair into his desk as he stood. The young Fon Master was losing his boundless patience—not a common event. Normally, the boy was cool, level-headed, and kind to a fault. Ion could never refuse anyone in need of help, and he was quick to offer his assistance where needed. But now, Van was here, telling him of elaborate plans to which he could not agree. Though Ion was never stubborn, there was just no two ways about this._

_"But Fon Master," Van stroked his beard, giving the replica his most cunning grin. Only those who knew him well could see its true malice. "Do not forget it was your original—the first Fon Master Ion—that was killed by the Score! His life was branded meaningless ever since he read that he would die at the age of twelve!" The sly commandant leaned closer to his superior, bowing his head submissively, even if his tone did not reflect his action. "And Ion had to read the Score every day for the masses! They felt nothing for him. No regret. No sadness. No pity. They were so obsessed with the Score that they didn't even realize they were causing him to suffer!"_

_"I--"_

_"That child's life was _poisoned_ by the drug that is the Score! Do you yourself feel no pity for him?"_

_Ion's eyes widened, and Van only laughed aloud at his shock._

_"It will kill you, too. All of mankind will be destroyed if things continue as they are. The Score will blind, deafen, and dumb the public into degeneration—you do know what I mean, correct? Everything will be destroyed—everything we know, all the people, all the lives, all the hope we know—all because of the _Score_! In the Score lies no answer to the human race's problems. It_ is_ the problem. With the Score gone, forgotten, mankind would thrive! Don't you see? Our existence is being throttled by our very way of life!" Van turned his back and sighed dramatically. "I know it's hard to suddenly throw away all you've lived by to my ranting, Fon Master. I do hope you will forgive me for wasting your time--"_

_"Wait!" Ion pleaded just as Van had his hand on the doorknob, ready to leave. "You... you're abandoning the Score? You're just... throwing away two thousand years of prosperity?"_

_"Ah, but Fon Master," Van rose, smiling affably at the replica before him. Just as planned, the poor boy couldn't help himself in the face of the commandant's eloquence. "Not throwing away. Have the last two thousand years been prosperous? Think about it. The Hod War. Two innocent islands destroyed, just like that. Yulia's Score promises prosperity for a time in the future—the near future, perhaps, but we have to wait for it. Would you not rather have that now? Besides, the Score only means prosperity for Kimlasca. If we were to overturn the Score, then the whole world—Kimlasca, Daath, and Malkuth—would all prosper together."_

_"That may be true, but..."_

_"Think of it this way," Van straightened resolutely, as though his next comment would cinch the deal for sure. "If only one country prospers, others will be envious. Envy leads to war, and war will claim far more lives than I care to imagine. If everyone is happy and satisfied at once, then they will have no reason to fight."_

_"Van... you may be right," Ion sat back down again, holding his head and still undecided. "The world is stuck on the Score. It's only a prophecy, but it's never been wrong. Not once."_

_"Has it?" Van grinned like a seductive reptile. Ion eyed him warily, unbelievingly, until he spoke again. "Come... shall we see if the Score is absolute, Fon Master?"_

_Ion frowned. What could he possibly have to disprove the Score's authenticity? Nothing in existence disobeyed the law that was the Score. The Score was the only thing anyone had ever known to be as definite as the sun's rise and fall each day. Surely nothing could be wrong—that would send the public into an outright panic..._

_Reluctantly, Ion trotted behind the tall man, still keeping his distance. Van tried to walk a bit closer to the boy, but Ion didn't seem to notice him. The poor thing must be very worried indeed to ignore and remain fixated on him at the same time as he was. The Fon Master was distraught, yes, and perhaps fearful of what he may find. There was nothing so terrifying as hearing one with the persuasiveness of Van tell of a disturbance in the Score._

_"There," the older man whispered, even though they were fer enough away from the commons area to be seen or heard. "See him, right over there? Kind of off own his own?"_

_The boy in question was seated in a far corner, well off from the other packs of soldiers in training. He forced his gaze from the brick wall at which he was staring long enough to glare at the rest before turning back to the wall, which was, apparently, more entertaining. He absently swept his flowing crimson hair to the side and considered tying it back so it didn't get in his face so much. That or maybe he would cut it off, but he felt it not even worth the effort._

_"Oh, the new boy. It's odd for you to recruit anyone else at this time—registrations for the Oracle Knights have long since closed for the year, haven't they?"_

_"Yes, but that one—he is special, Fon Master. See his hair, his eyes? Only those of the Royal Family of Kimlasca have features of such a hue."_

_Ion gasped. "You can't be serious! How did you get him here with no one noticing?"_

_Van spelled out a single word, a single breath, that sent shivers down the young Fon Master's spine._

_"Fomicry."_

_"You-you can't mean... That child is a replica?!"_

_"No, Fon Master, you misunderstand," Van's satin tone never faltered. "_He_ is not the replica. He is the original. He was kidnapped from his home in Baticul not long ago, and when the poor thing was returned, he had no memory of the past whatsoever."_

_Ion felt his eyes moisten at the thought of another victim of fomicry. Even if he had suffered no ill effects from the replication, he still opposed the use of fomicry on living things—to him, it just wasn't natural. Creating copies was wrong—not for the fact that they were replicas, but because they were so abused by their creators. He examined his own hand, clenching his tiny fist in fury and brought it down to his side slowly. _He _was spawn of machinery—a child of fontech and the baby of nothing more than wires, metal, and Seventh Fonons. He had no parents, no family, nothing. All that was there was his own life and the others' ability to control him. Besides, he was not here because he was wanted—he just so happened to have powers reminiscent of the original Ion's. Van was right. The Score had done this to him. To everyone. He raised his head to the commandant's, his pure green eyes that once reflected innocence finally seeing the jagged truth of reality. He made no effort to stop his tears, and his voice was steady as he replied to Van._

_"I'll join you."_

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Please review! 

Thanks to my beta, Lanane, for much valuable help with editing and making this fic a little easier on the eyes ;


	2. The Grocers' Hamlet

**Disclaimer:** Well, let's see. This happens to be on and also a story about Tales of the Abyss. _ Fan_. Okay, point is, I don't own the game, the characters, anything—as much as I wish I did. So, if anyone honestly thinks I own the game, I give the rest of the world permission to throw large, blunt objects at said offender. Because that's seriously offensive to the REAL creators of the game—comparing them to me, that is ;) You get the point.

Thanks to all who gave me ideas for this fic. And, of course, to all who review. Much appreciated! I'll shut up now.

* * *

"Hey!--" Luke hit the ground hard, the wooden practice sword flying from his hands and nearly delivering Guy a solid clout to the head. 

"Luke! Get up! Never let your guard drop in battle!"

"Hey, slow down, Master!--" Luke was sent sprawling again, and Guy leaped out of the way just as his red-haired friend skidded into the neat line of stone blocks that surrounded Pere's perfectly manicured gardens. "Owww..."

"Heh, you've got to be more careful, Luke. That or practice twice as hard," Guy helped the noble from the ground and dusted off his long white coat.

"Hmph," Luke snorted, facing his instructor again. "I'll get it this time, just leave me alone, Guy!"

"Yes, sir," Guy shook his head, not offended in the least by Luke's snotty mannerisms. It was not unlike the rude boy to make such comments to anyone—to those both above and below his rank . Guy watched his charge vainly fly at the Oracle Knight again and again, each time getting sent back forcibly.

"Parry, Luke, parry! Hold the sword diagonally across your chest with both hands! Hold tight now, here it comes!" Van's own wooden bladeclattered against Luke's, but this time, he held his ground and whipped the sword back for a counter-strike. Van easily executed a block with one hand, sending Luke down once more.

"Luke, Luke, Luke..." he sighed. "You were doing fine until you tried to strike back. Next time, block and only block, you hear me?"

"Y-yes, Master!" Luke stammered, getting in place for another round. "I'll do it right this time!"

"Right, then..." Van swung the wooden sword back, ready to attack. He charged for Luke, but the latter stood frozen on the spot. He squinted off to an area beyond Van, hoping the answer to come out of thin air.

"Luke! Luke, snap out of it!" Van admonished him, breaking his gallop and rapping the boy's head playfully. Surely anything important enough to draw the boy's mind from his favorite pastime was very serious indeed. Van chose to let it go for now, but keep it in mind to ask about it later. "Are you ready or not?"

"Um... um, yes, Master!" Luke said distractedly. He could have sworn he heard a voice... A woman's voice, and very close, too. He strained to hear it again, but it was gone, a drifting note on the breeze.

"What's that?..." Van glanced behind him, and, sure enough, there she was. Van recognized her immediately. "Tear! What are you doing here?!"

"I've finally found you, Vandesdelca! Prepare to die!" She dashed for the grey-haired man with the agility of a ninja, her hair of similar color billowing behind her and her knife and staff at the ready. She swiped at him, but Van dodged out of the way, simultaneously guarding with the wooden blade.

"Mystearica! I knew it!"

"Hey! What are you doing?!" Luke's reflexes kicked in, and he lashed out at the girl instinctively.

She spun, facing the boy, and swiftly brought her staff up in a parry strikingly close to Van's.

"Luke!" Guy ran to them, and he knew something was wrong the moment he saw sparks fly from metal meeting wood with an eerie _ching_. That was not normal. He grasped the boy's arm, feeling the blood surge to his head in a panic.

"The Seventh Fonon?!" Tear gasped.

"That... damn... voice!" Luke gritted, squinting in obvious pain. Guy tried again to wrench them apart, worried about Luke. Why those headaches again, and at a time like this?! The sparks were growing, and they licked out from where Luke and Tear's weapons met, flashing red, purple, and auburn. The air near the point of contact swelled, rippling and making the wood appear to merge with the rod. A metallic light emanated from them, and Van's cry of "Wait!" fell on an empty courtyard as the light swallowed the three and dispersed.

"Hyperresonance," Van grunted to himself. Tear was always the rash one, especially when it came to him. Ever since he'd told her... she'd been like this. She used to be so rational, but now she was a bloodthirsty beast, intent only on slaying her own brother. He grinned. If only she knew...

Van put on his best worried expression to warn the Duke and Duchess of their son's disappearance. After the "kidnapping", this was sure to bring a smile to their faces...

"Luke?! Wake up, Luke!" Tear watched the frantic servant hover over the redhead so close she thought he was about to kiss him, but Luke's eyes suddenly snapped open and he shoved Guy from his face.

"Shut up all ready!"

"Luke!" Guy threw his arms around Luke, and Tear raised an awkward eyebrow. Luke's next string of curses was muffled by Guy's clothes as he tried to push him back once again.

Tear couldn't think of anything to say, nor could she find any action to take. What the hell was up with him? He looked like he was going to strangle the boy, and she almost felt sorry for Luke. After all, Guy probably hadn't even noticed she was there in the first place.

"Um... can I help in any way?..." She hesitantly reached for Guy's shoulder as Luke kicked him off in agitation.

"Damn, Guy, obsessive enough?!"

Instead of answering Luke, Guy let out a shriek that completely shattered all hope Tear had for getting out of the forest alive. Another prissy man was just the thing she needed. Guy seemed to see her for the first time, and he threw himself as far as he could, still wailing for all he was worth. Tear gave him a strange look, but had no time to comment.

"You!" Luke shouted, just realizing Tear's presence. She sighed, annoyed with these careless men. "You broke into the manor! I remember now!"

"Hey!" Guy stood from his fetal position on the ground, finally gathering his courage. "What did you do back there, taking us all the way out here?!"

And she thought they would actually be of use. These two were quite the moody ones. She shrugged at their impatience. "Honestly, what happened back there was not my fault--"

"Oh, a hyperresonance wasn't your fault?!" Guy snarled, forgetting his earlier fear and advancing menacingly. "You're with Malkuth, aren't you!? You're here for Luke again, just like seven years ago!"

"Guy! Give her a break! I don't even know what the hell you're talking about!" Luke begged, trying to calm his irate friend.

"No! How can we trust she won't attack us again?"

"I wasn't after Luke!" Tear argued.

"Then you were going for Master Van!" Luke chimed in. "Why did you try to kill Master Van?!"

Tear merely stood, giving a gusty sigh, and turned to the path behind them. "Are you two going to help get out of here or just stand there fussing at me all night?"

"Stop avoiding the question!" Guy's voice rose to a volume much louder than Tear liked. A bush rustled behind her, and she drew her knives as a tusked male boar stampeded out. Guy wasted no time readying his own weapon, and the creature was filleted neatly before Luke could blink.

"Well, it seems you're not as irresponsible as you sound," Tear commented icily.

Luke gave a slight whine, and Guy was at his side again. She had never seen someone of his age be babied in such a way before. It must be nice to be royalty.

"It's all right, Luke..." Guy crooned like an old wife. Luke seemed to enjoy the attention and was even hoping Tear might get a bit jealous of him. He shot her a nasty grin, and she simply glared back at him. Seven years of coddling had surely softened the boy, and his nurse was just as bad when it came down to it.

"Unbelievable. I don't have time for this," Tear started down the hill, swatting away any miscellaneous foliage that obstructed the path with her rod.

"H-hey! Where are you going?" Guy directed his attention back to the girl, silently berating himself for letting his guard drop. "Get back here!"

Tear ignored him. He'd had his chance—now he'd have to keep up on his own.

"Wait!" Luke called to her this time. The two males panted to keep up with Tear's pace.

"Miss... I offer my sincerest apologies for both my own and Master Luke's actions," Guy bowed generously.

"You sure you can keep cool now?" Tear sneered, almost disgusted with the show.

"By my honor, Milady," Guy continued.

"...No more formalities! You may call me Tear," She blushed slightly as she nodded to each in turn. "We have to help each other if we're to get out of here alive. Are either of you familiar with the area?"

"Well, Luke's been confined to the manor for the past seven years—he has no way of knowing."

"And before that? Doesn't he have tutors or something?"

"Well," Guy motioned to the childish Luke, who was fascinated with the various luminescent flora that grew in the valley. "After the Malkuth Empire kidnapped him seven years ago, he lost his memory, and now he's not allowed to leave the manor lest anything happen to him. We have taught him as much as we can in that time, but he's still a bit oblivious to the world around him."

"I see... then do you have any idea as to where we might be?"

"Hmmm..." Guy examined the surroundings carefully. "I'm not sure—there are forests like this all over the world, and they all look pretty similar..."

"Well, our first objective should be to get out of here. Then, maybe we can find a coach and get a ride back to the capital from there."

"Sounds like a good plan," Guy praised, then looked over his shoulder for the young noble. "Luke, come on, are you ready to--"

Luke tore a path through the woods, a fierce female beast hot on his trail. She snorted, barreling toward the group.

"Luke!" Guy whipped out his sword, not bothering to unsheathe it, and gave the monster a heavy crack on the head that stunned it as it passed.

Luke ground to a halt when he heard the bone-shattering blow. The sow lay dead, and Guy flipped his sword back into his belt easily.

"Impressive," Tear mouthed. "It's a relief to have at least one decent fighter on our side, at least."

"H-hey!" Luke sputtered, approaching the woman angrily. "I can fight, too!"

"Fine job you did of running away, I must admit,"

Guy gave a light-hearted chuckle as Luke almost let Tear have it, and he pulled the former away before any damage could be done. "I'll handle the fighting, Luke."

"No!" Luke was just about to throw a tantrum right then and there when all three froze at the sound of another voice from the direction of the stream that wound its way through the valley.

"Ah!--The Dark Wings!" the man stuttered, dropping the two pails he was carrying. He backed away, hoping they would leave him alone.

"The Dark Wings?" Tear stepped forward, asking him for further detail.

"Two men and a woman—it must be you three! You must be the ones raiding Engeve, too!"

"We're not--"

"My good man," Guy stepped forward, preparing a flattering speech to buy them the necessary trust they needed to get his assistance. He looked like a coachman—just the thing they needed. "We're merely travelers that lost our way. We would be most grateful if you could aid us in reaching the capital city."

The man still looked uneasy, tensed, and ready to run for it.

"If it may help clear us from suspicion," Tear stepped forward carefully. "Take this—my pendant. I can assure you no thieves would so easily part with their treasure." She did her best to sound as innocent as possible—the last thing she needed was for this man to back out on her as well.

"W-well..." The coachman still seemed as edgy as before. "It could still be a trap, but that looks like quite a trinket you've got there—worth more than enough to pay for passage for the three of you. I suppose I can trust you—for now, at least."

"A thousand thanks to you, my good sir," Guy bowed with a flourish as Tear hesitantly let the gold-set sapphire tumble into the man's open palm.

"The coach is over this way. I'll see you to the capital as soon as possible."

The carriage in question wasn't exactly top quality. Luke was quick to point this out, and, as Tear soon discovered, anything conceivably possible to criticize was addressed by the duke's son. He whined about everything: the cushions, the view, the beasts that were harnessed to the cart, the reins that might snap, the limited space in the vehicle, the dust, the wheels that looked like they were about to stove in, the old planking, the peeling paint, the boring scenery, the--

Tear was far past the point of sanity. She would have reached over and shut the whiny little brat up herself had Guy not stopped her. Of course, as she learned, he was deathly afraid of females—something of which Tear made a mental note to fall back to if need be. Guy dared not physically push her back from Luke's neck; she wouldn't miss the chance to threaten Guy. Of course, as irrational as his fear may have been, she decided that she should only do so sparingly—it would be no fun if he got used to her, after all.

When Luke fell asleep from the long ride, even Guy was relieved. The redhead was half sprawled in his lap, and Tear found herself in no more than a corner's space near the door to allow the noble sufficient room to accommodate such a position. She counted off every precious second Luke was snoring beside her, and she was positive Guy was doing the same.

"You there! Move your coach before you get caught in the crossfire!"

To everyone's dismay, the thunderous voice started Luke from his sleep, and the coachman jerked the reins sharply. Luke toppled over Tear, but Guy's phobia kept him plastered to the wall in fear of following his companion. Luke was over Guy again in an instant, face glued to the smudged window as he looked on at the vast landship.

"Whoa! Cool!"

The towering vehicle roared across the field, pursuing a coach similar to the one they were riding in now. The tank slowed suddenly, a glyph flashing pink underneath it before encompassing the entire mass of it in a glowing barrier. The bridge in front of it combusted, huge pillars of smoke and flame carrying large amounts of debris with it.

"Hmm... that looks like Malkuth colors. What's Malkuth doing around here?" Guy observed.

"That's our newest land dreadnought—the Tartarus," the coachman told him from his position at the head of the cart. "It's the biggest landship in Malkuth. It makes sense they're here—tensions near the border have been greater than ever, and Kimlasca's bound to declare war any day now!"

"M-Malkuth?!" Luke lurched forward. "You mean we're in Malkuth?!"

"Yeah—the East Rugnica Plains. Are you guys Kimlascan, by any chance?..."

"No!" Tear answered sharply. "We're on our way to the capital. Do you mean to tell us you're taking us to Grand Chokmah?"

"Well, that's where I was headed. I'm stopping in Engeve to the east first, though—it's up to you if you want to go there or stay on till we get all the way north. If you're heading to Baticul, the best way would have been south through Chesedonia, but with that bridge out..."

"Well," Guy turned to Tear. "Even if we could get a ship in Grand Chokmah, it's much farther than Engeve is—we're probably better off going there instead. There's not much else we can do otherwise."

"So, you guys getting off, then? You want to leave here and walk the rest of the way?"

"Like hell!" Luke voiced his opinion. "I'm all ready wet and dirty from that stupid forest! Just take us there so my shoes won't get any messier!"

"Please," Tear cut in. "Ignore him for now. We'd like a ride to the city, if you don't mind, sir."

"Okay, miss," The man slapped the reins across the monsters' backs, urging them on faster.

The trip seemed to be passing uneventfully. Guy stared out the window, doing his best to retain his sanity and tune out Luke's nonstop string of complaints. He hoped to Lorelei the poor fool that didn't know what he was getting himself into wouldn't just up and kick them out right then and there. Tear was in a similar position, meticulously counting the stitches on the hem of her uniform to keep herself occupied.

"...and when are we gonna get there? It's been hours! It's gonna be dark soon, and I don't like the dark! If you can't get those things moving any faster, I'll make them move myself!..." Luke ranted, oblivious to the others' building rage.

"Luke, would you PLEASE," Guy clapped a hand over Luke's mouth, obviously struggling to control himself and keep from transferring his grasp to the young noble's neck. "Be quiet. You don't want to annoy the nice coachman and have him make us walk the rest of the way, do you?" Guy didn't bother to release his prisoner long enough to get an answer.

Tear exhaled for probably the first time since they left. Guy's voice was like a fonic hymn to her ears after the whining. She made eye contact with her newfound savior and mouthed "thank you" to him. Guy grinned sheepishly and shook his head. Finally daring to remove his hand, he spoke to Luke again. "You want to go to sleep now?"

"No," Luke pouted sourly.

"Whoa! Hey--" the coachman shouted abruptly, the carriage veering off course at a steep angle.

"What's that?" Guy reached for his blade, and Tear her wand.

"That's odd," he responded. "It was a liger—a huge liger. They live in the forests north of here, though. I could have sworn I saw a griffin with it, too..."

"This is bad," Tear stated. "No two widely varied species coexist in such a manner naturally. What could that mean?..."

"Damn!" the coachman vaulted from his seat to tend to one of the reptilian creatures that had been pulling the cart. "Man, these things are easily spooked, eh?" He rose, shaking his head. "I'm sorry, guys, but we'll have to camp here for the night. Relk's hurt her foot bad, and she needs a night to heal before we go off again. At least that big liger and its friend are gone—we don't need to be messing with ligers, especially at night..."

Tear winced, waiting for Luke's tirade to begin anew, but it never did. When she glanced back down at him, she saw why. He was sound asleep, head falling onto Guy once more. Tear sighed out of a mix of relief and exasperation. At least she herself would be able to fall asleep relatively easily, provided Luke could sleep through the night. She knew her hope was a lost cause; it was only just getting dark again, and dinner would have to be prepared soon. She could tell all ready that Luke was not one to miss a meal in his life.

Luke did, indeed, wake up later that night. He yawned, stretching, and snorted when he bumped his hands against the roof of the coach. He sat up, surprised to see the thing vacated and still.

"Oh wait, Guy. Luke hasn't eaten any yet."

"It's his fault if he sleeps through dinner!"

"As much as he deserves it, I still would rather..."

Luke jumped from the cart, banging his head this time, and he stumbled into the firelight. "Hey, hey, is there food?"

"There you are," Guy smiled up at him. "Tear cooked us some dinner. It was kind of hasty, but it's better than nothing."

"Rice balls?" Luke mumbled. "That's the best you can do?"

"Luke..." Guy's expression hardened at the rude comment. "We don't exactly have the means of getting supplies for elaborate dishes, here. We're lucky our kind friend here is supplying us food, not to mention giving us a ride to Engeve in the first place. You need to be a bit more thankful..." Guy gave up on his speech when he saw the redhead had stopped listening long ago. Luke picked apart the rice, undecided whether or not to trust it. Finally, he took a hesitant bite. Guy swallowed his next outburst, his patience running thin.

"Well, if that's all," The coachman stood, dusting his traveling clothes off. "We should head off to bed now. I'll do first watch, if no one has any objections."

"No, that's fine," Tear assured him. "You're the one actually doing all the work; you take the early shift and get your sleep. Guy and I will finish off the rest of the night."

"Here we are," The coachman entered the city, waving to a few familiar faces along the way. "You guys can take it from here, I trust?"

"Yes, thank you. You've helped us a great deal all ready," Tear thanked him yet again.

"Noooo problem," The greedy man fingered Tear's bauble, all ready knowing a man in Grand Chokmah that would kill for such a gem.

"Well, what's the next plan?" Guy asked Tear as the other man wandered into town ahead of them. "If we're in Engeve, the best way back to Kimlasca would be through Kaitzur to the south and then take a ship from Chesedonia to Baticul."

"But wouldn't we need passports to get through a checkpoint like Kaitzur? I don't have one, and if what you said is true, there's no way Luke would have one in the first place. What about you?"

"Nope, nothing," Guy held up his hands. "Never left the city, myself. Never needed to. But anyway, we should stock up on supplies here while--" He stopped, glancing around. "Where'd Luke go?"

"Oh, please..." Tear kneaded her forehead. "Not again..."

"Hear that?" Guy cocked his head toward what must be the main square, judging by the amount of activity there.

"Ugh, he better not be causing trouble again. Let's go check it out."

"...not your damn thief, you hear me?!"

Tear and Guy rushed up to the mob of villagers gathered around the door to the inn. At its center was a man holding Luke by the collar. The indignant noble kicked and swung at the crowd, cursing them and their "filthy stores".

"Hey! Luke, calm down!" Guy intervened, trying his best to make peace. His efforts were turned back in his face, however.

"You with this kid?" The innkeeper glanced past the blond swordsman at Tear. "And that woman! You're the Dark Wings, aren't you?!"

His statement sent the residents in an uproar, with cries of "Arrest them!" being the most prominent.

Tear and Guy found themselves held along with Luke and dragged to the mayor's house. Luke snarled and bit at the man holding him in a most unrefined manner; he received a nasty slap in return.

"Rose! Rose, we caught the thieves!" the innkeeper called as he pounded the door to the cottage that stood just off the square.

"Calm down, Kelly," a female voice hissed before the door opened. The hefty woman stood in the door frame, facing the men. She seemed the type that could pull in a whole year's harvest in a single day and not even break out in a sweat—which she probably could. Rose was no pushover.

"We caught the thieves!" Kelly repeated, the others also echoing the statement.

"Now, now, calm down," Rose quieted them in a more humane manner than Guy expected her to. Then again, he saw all women as scary, this one more so than usual. "Let them speak for themselves. Well?"

"We're not with the Dark Wings," Tear explained. "We got on the wrong coach and ended up here. We were bound for Kimlasca."

"They're lying!"

"No, she's not!" Guy snapped at the villagers. "A-anyway... We're not here for food. You can search us if you want. We didn't take your food and we have no need to take it, either."

"Do you lazy farmers know who I am?!" Luke shouted loudly.

"Luke!" Tear sent Luke a severe glare. "Your name will mean nothing to them!" Though she knew his name would mean a great deal to them, she opted for the shortest explanation possible at the time. Later she would have to tell him the rest, but now was not the time.

"Tch. Fine," Luke sniffed.

"How about this," Guy offered, giving Rose a light wink. "If we can find the real thieves, you let us leave peacefully."

"What a feeble excuse!" Kelly struck Guy mockingly.

"You!" Rose reprimanded him. "You do not hit our guests!"

_More like prisoners_, Luke considered saying aloud, but the look he received from Tear told him otherwise.

"We shall let you help us," Rose agreed. "We haven't been able to find anything for the past few weeks—maybe some fresh help will set us on the trail. Release them, but you may keep an eye on them if you wish, Kelly. Everyone else, you're dismissed."

The farmers left, still mumbling horrible things about Luke and giving him angry glares.

"Well now," Rose sighed, her mood suddenly become that of a pleasant housewife. "What are your names, young 'uns?"

"You can call me Guy," the blond told her. "and this is Tear and Luke. Pleased to meet you."

"Right. And you may call me Rose."

"Did you get word of the Malkuth military near here with their new landship?" Tear asked.

"Actually, the colonel in charge of the mission was here just yesterday. He was just stocking up on supplies while he was in the area."

"Oh. Thanks," Tear nodded to the woman. "I guess we better get to work, then..."

She directed her comment at Guy, who followed her example and bid Rose goodbye. Luke trailed behind them, arms crossed sullenly.

"And Luke--" Rose stopped him. He turned, only half caring, as he was still insulted by the villagers' behavior. "Don't let little things like that get to you, okay? Everyone's been on edge recently because of the thefts, but they only mean well."

Luke grunted in response, making a point to slam the door as an indication that he wasn't going to forgive them that easily.

Outside, Kelly was all ready speaking to Tear and Guy.

"Ever since those fires up north, food has been disappearing left and right from the storehouses—we think it may be some band of thieves hiding out up there looking for food. They've escaped us so long; we have a pretty good idea that it's the Dark Wings. They're world famous as the most skilled robbers in the land."

"So, why not take a look inside the storehouse?" Guy shrugged to Tear. "We may find some evidence there."

"I'm sure they've looked through everything inside and out, but I guess it's the only start we have."

"So now we're working for these pigslaves, huh?" Luke groaned.

"What was that, Luke?" Tear shot, more in a warning than curiosity towards what he said.

"Nothing,"

"Okay, then. It's this way," Kelly led them to the back entrance of the village's closest warehouse. He clicked a key into the lock and pushed the door open gently.

The room appeared small from the outside, but it was actually quite spacious. From wall to wall and ceiling to deck were stacked boxes, jugs, barrels, sacks, kegs, containers, pots, and jars of every size imaginable. Luke wondered how the hell they ever found anything, much less stored it, in such an intricate system of conduct, but Kelly seemed to know his way around the place. He gestured for them to go in first, and Guy obliged, followed by the other two and Kelly himself.

"See—most of this stuff was ransacked. And over here, too," He pointed out two heaps of disorderly supplies that stood out rather well due to the contrast it posed to the otherwise neat storehouse.

"Oh! Look," Guy plucked a torn corner of burlap from under a shelving unit. "See this?"

The others leaned in for a closer look. Kelly shook his head, still unable to detect anything amiss.

"Ah, right there," Tear saw what Guy wanted her to, and she carefully slid the fine hair from the rough weave of the burlap.

"This must be from a cheagle; no other monster has fur this shade," she recalled her lessons from when she was just studying as a fonist in the Order of Lorelei. "Cheagles are the sacred beasts of the Order, so it was part of the history we were required to learn in officers' school."

"A cheagle, huh?" Luke eyed the hair expectantly. "Where do they live around here?"

"In the forest just north of the village," Kelly pointed in the general direction, even though nothing could be seen from where they were. "The fires were still further north than that—I don't think they spread to where the cheagles live."

"Let's go there tomorrow!" Luke declared. "They have to have left proof all over the place that they're the thieves—then you can stop blaming me for everything!"

"Sure, kid," Kelly humored him. "You guys can stay at the inn free tonight. Rose would eat me alive if I charged you anything."

* * *

Please review!

Thanks to my beta, Lanane, for much valuable help with editing and making this fic a little easier on the eyes ;


	3. The Cheagle Woods

**Disclaimer:** Well, let's see. This happens to be on and also a story about Tales of the Abyss. _ Fan_. Okay, point is, I don't own the game, the characters, anything—as much as I wish I did. So, if anyone honestly thinks I own the game, I give the rest of the world permission to throw large, blunt objects at said offender. Because that's seriously offensive to the REAL creators of the game—comparing them to me, that is ;) You get the point.

Thanks to all who gave me ideas for this fic. And, of course, to all who review. Much appreciated! I'll shut up now.

* * *

The walk to the Cheagle Woods was not long, but Luke was all ready past the point of exhaustion. He had insisted on doing most of the fighting to prove himself, ordering Guy and Tear to the back. Guy hadn't even bothered to protest, and Tear simply followed his example. Tear herself was a bit worried; Luke hadn't uttered a single complaint since they had left. That was certainly a bad sign. Still, she was grateful for the peace. With all the monsters they were fighting, it was starting to look more and more like Luke was picking so many battles on purpose. That's just the thing a rash, foolish boy would do.. He had no idea they could find themselves fighting for their lives any minute.

"Luke," Tear ventured cautiously. "Maybe we should rest for a bit. You look like you're about to pass out, and we're not exactly in top condition either."

"No." Luke moodily swatted at the dense vines dangling from the tree canopy. "We're almost there anyway."

"How do you know that?!" Guy couldn't stop himself from shouting.

Luke turned suddenly, facing Guy, his finger pressing the servant's chest none too gently. "These stupid cheagles can't have much more brain than any other monsters! We'll find a path sooner or--"

As if on cue, a pale orange creature darted from tree to tree, stopping occasionally at the roots of each one to munch on the small mushrooms that grew there.

"There's one now!"

Tear sighed, watching the boy run headlong in the opposite direction again. When would he learn you can't just _do_ that in a forest full of monsters? And where did he get the energy for that charge in the first place? Guy mumbled something she couldn't make out before giving chase.

"Hey!" Luke skidded to a halt before a vast tower of blue and gold steel that sat majestically in a clearing. The cheagle gave a high-pitched squeal and disappeared into the foliage, but Luke had completely forgotten it in his awe. Guy and Tear caught up, they too stopping short.

The landship was familiar to them; they'd seen it coming to Engeve just after leaving the valley. Beams of gold-plated metal arched in dizzying patterns far above the cobalt hull. Pearly orbs decorated the rail and added to its beautiful structure.

"The Tartarus," Guy remembered the name of the ship. "What are they doing here?"

"And who might you be?" The silken voice came from behind the three, and they nearly fell over each other jumping at the sound. "You're trespassing, you know. Dreadful bad habit that is."

Tear regained her composure first. "W-we're just travelers. What are you doing here?"

"My dear," the man stepped from the undergrowth, the leaves and exotic grasses falling from his spotless uniform as gracefully as he spoke. "It's rude to demand a stranger's name without introducing yourself first."

"Who made him boss?" Luke spat from the corner of his mouth. Guy gave him a glare that was more like a physical slap. He could only hope this man hadn't heard the comment. Though Guy hardly understood anything of the military, he knew enough to conclude that this man was a high-ranking officer—possibly even the commander of the mission. What was he doing down here, then?...

Tear also made her best effort to ignore Luke. "My name is Tear Grants, First Platoon, Oracle Knights Intelligence Division."

"Ah," The man gave her the most bone-chilling smile she'd ever seen. "You're Van Grants' sister, aren't you?"

"What?! You're Master Van's sister?!" Luke blurted incredulously.

"My, my, it seems even your companions don't know you,"

"Sir--" Guy stepped forward, hoping to prevent the awkward silence that would have been sure to follow. "This is Luke, and my name is Guy Cecil. I'm a servant of his."

"Now, what's your name, sir?" Tear pressed him again.

"Colonel Jade Curtiss, Third Division, Malkuth Imperial Forces." The man grinned even more broadly. "I'm here on behalf of His Majesty, Peony IX, Emperor of Malkuth, and I happen to be escorting Fon Master Ion at the present."

"What's a 'Fon Master Ion'?" Luke barged in ignorantly.

Jade coughed politely, but he couldn't hide his ever-growing smile.

"Luke... now is not the time..." Guy nudged the boy.

"Fon Master Ion," Jade cleared his throat again. "Happens to be the leader of the Order of Lorelei and the highest ranking Oracle Knight. His predecessor, Evenos, created the peace that reigns today, and he is the symbol of that peace, along with Lorelei and their noble mascots, the cheagles."

Luke blinked, only absorbing about half of the information.

"Eh... don't worry about him." Guy blushed, pulling Luke back. "He's suffering from memory loss, you see..."

"_Memory loss_, is it?" Jade's face sparked with fascination. "What has caused said memory loss, if you don't mind?..."

"You Malkuthians kidnapped him seven years ago," Guy growled. "He was traumatized, you know."

"Hm... I don't recall anything of the sort. It must have happened during the previous emperor's reign."

"Anyway, you haven't told us why you're here." Tear returned to her original question. "You mentioned the Fon Master?..."

"_Yes_, I did," Jade said cheerily.

"Why is the Fon Master here?" Tear was growing impatient with this man.

"He heard of some fires in the northern forests and he wished to see if the cheagles made it through all right."

"Jade!" a child's voice called from the direction of the Tartarus. "Are we ready to move out?"

"Fon Master..." Jade turned to the green-haired boy running to him.

"Oh? Who are these people?"

"It seems they're travelers," Jade stated, amused to no end. "Guy, Tear, and... Luke, was it?"

Guy kicked Luke before he could even say anything, and instead of making a rude remark to the colonel, he aimed his complaint at Guy. "What was that for?!"

"Good afternoon, Fon Master," Guy greeted the child affably. "I'm sorry for the invasion. If we're in the way, we'll just get going."

"No, not at all. Why did you come to this forest?" Ion tilted his head expectantly. "Commoners don't exactly just wander into a forest for no reason."

"It's a long story, but we've been sent here by the people of Engeve to search for proof the cheagles have been stealing food. It seemed like they were pretty upset about it."

"Oh, oh no, the cheagles have been stealing food?" Ion looked around worriedly. "Jade, we have to go see about this!"

"I have no objections, Fon Master." Jade pushed his glasses higher on the bridge of his nose. "That is, if Mr. Luke finds it suitable for one of his status to mingle with us lowly peasants."

"What was that--?!"

"Hey, hey, wait a minute," Guy grabbed Luke's forearm as a precaution before questioning Jade. "How do you know who Luke is?"

"I didn't, I just took a lucky guess, judging by the color of his hair and eyes—he must be from the Kimlascan royal family. By your reaction, I assume he _is_ of importance?..."

"Oh! I know!" Ion gently brushed Guy's hand from Luke's arm. "Luke--'the light of the sacred flame' in Ancient Ispanian. That's a nice name. Do you recognize that, Jade?"

"_In_teresting..." Jade pondered. Luke was foolish enough to take the bait.

"What is it?"

"I could have sworn it meant 'infinite whining'. I need to brush up on my Ancient Ispanian, it seems."

Guy predicted Luke's action again and immediately had both of his arms restraining Luke's shoulders as the redhead lunged at the colonel.

"Oh, please don't hurt Jade, Luke." Ion stepped between them, holding his arms out.

"Just let me at that stupid bastard, I'll tear his arms off and feed them to him!..."

"Luke!" Guy thumped Luke's head roughly. "Don't talk to him like that!"

"Um, um, Luke! How about we go find that cheagle now? I think I saw it head over to the stream over there." Ion pointed from the direction Luke and his party had just come in an effort to distract the Duke's son from the colonel.

"Near the stream?" Tear echoed. "You're a wonderful pathfinder, Luke. We only passed that stream four times this morning."

"Oh, shut up."

"Well, now that that's all settled..." Jade nodded to the Tartarus and then at Ion. "I think your nanny is calling you."

"Oh! Anise!" Ion acknowledged the black haired girl that had launched herself at him. "Where have you been?"

"Just tracking the cheagles, Ion!" she giggled cheerfully. "I've found the trail if you're ready to follow it!"

"Okay!"

"Lively little pair, aren't they?" Jade nodded to Tear and Guy as Anise dragged Ion back to the camp.

"Yes..." Tear replied absently. Could he be?...

"Here it is!"

Guy, Tear, Luke, and Jade followed the others to a decidedly large tree with an opening big enough to admit all of them. Luke was positive that it had to be the tallest tree on the face of Auldrant, despite having seen so little of the world. He'd heard of another tree, the Soil Tree, in a town called St. Binah, but there was no way it could be any larger than the cheagles' dwelling.

"What brings you to our home?" a voice echoed from the rear of the chamber, and the smaller cheagles that had been playing ran to the confines of the hollowed roots.

"It talked?!"

"Yes, Luke," Ion explained patiently. "Long ago, Yulia Jue made a pact with the cheagles and offered a ring to them to symbolize that pact. It is called the Sorcerer's Ring, and it allows monsters to speak our language."

"Are you of relation to Yulia Jue?" The purple-furred cheagle advanced, holding the glimmering ring between its tiny paws.

"I'm Ion, Fon Master of the Order of Lorelei." Ion walked up to the cheagle and knelt so they were on eye level with each other. "Have you been raiding Engeve in search of food?"

"So you've come to exterminate us?"

"They don't deny it!" Luke accused. "We'll drag these guys back to Engeve and--"

"No!" the cheagle elder stopped him. "We don't have need of human food; we are herbivores. It is to appease the ligers that moved down here when one of our tribe burned their forest to the north. They will prey on us if we don't send them food occasionally."

"So, what if we kill the ligers?" Guy suggested. "Then you won't have any predators."

"No! That's barbaric!" Ion cried. "What if we negotiate with them—we can use the Sorcerer's Ring to communicate."

"If you wish to try, I will lend the ring to the one who burned the forest." the cheagle elder summoned one from a crevice near the entrance. This cheagle had brilliant blue fur, and he stumbled up to the elder hastily. He accepted the ring and held it around his waist daintily. Tear couldn't help blushing at this—the little thing was just too cute!

"My name's Mieu! Pleased to meet you!" it squeaked.

"Well, well," Jade smirked. "More dead weight."

"H-hey!" Luke folded his arms indignantly.

"Did I say anything to offend you, Luke?" Jade asked innocently. "I was talking about Ion—the doctors in Daath forbade him from using his power because he often gets tired enough to pass out after using it."

"D-don't worry about him, Luke," Guy tugged the seething Luke away from the colonel. "He's only kidding."

"Is the colonel ever NOT kidding?" Anise commented flatly.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Mieu squirmed uncomfortably.

"There's no way I'm gonna put up with THAT," Luke plucked the monster from the moss on the ground and stared eye to eye with it. "Shut up, you... thing! And don't ever open your mouth again!"

"Luke! You're despicable!" Tear scolded him.

"It's harmless..." Guy shrugged.

"Let's just get this over with!" Luke let the cheagle drop to the ground irately.

"Mieeeeeeuuuuu..."

"Come here, Mieu... I'll hold you for now." Tear lifted him onto her shoulder protectively.

"Now, let's go mess up some ligers!" Anise cheered.

"Indeed..." Jade agreed. There was something about how he spoke that made the others shiver slightly.

The trip to the ligers' den was tense. To the casual observer, the group was simply plodding its way through the forest, but it was actually perfectly choreographed to minimize conflict. Tear and Mieu had taken the lead, and Guy walked between her and Luke, who was also separated from Jade by Ion and Anise. For a long time, the only sound that could be heard was that of plush mosses being trampled underfoot and the occasional whispers of Tear and Mieu figuring out the best route to take. Luke's whining had ceased after a sound verbal punishment from Jade at his abusing Mieu's ability to use the Sorcerer's Ring to breathe little puffs of fire. Ever since then, no one tried to talk, as the event put Luke in a foul mood, and any hint of a conversation was quickly smothered by his familiar cry of "Shut up!".

"Why is everyone so quiet?" Anise chirped, breaking the silence abruptly.

"Because, dear Anise, the louder we are, the more monsters we'll attract," Jade answered.

"Stupid old man, talking like he knows everything," Luke mumbled under his breath. Jade chose to ignore the comment, much to Guy's relief. After all, as Jade well knew, insulting someone stupid was only fun if you had an audience, and this particular one was growing tired of the friction between them.

"Here it is." Tear stopped short in front of the hole that had been burrowed into the ground. "Mieu says the liger queen is in there."

"Hmph. Let's get on with this!" Luke charged ahead of the group.

"Oh, my, it seems someone is a bit excited." Jade trotted in after him pleasantly.

"You ready, Ion? Come on. You too, Tear, Guy." Anise motioned for the rest to follow her.

The ligers' den was a large cavern. It was mostly empty, save for the heavy tree roots that protruded from the soil above. In the center of the room was an enormous nest, and in it sat the biggest monster Luke had ever seen. She was muscular and lean, obviously the leader of the pack. Her ears pricked at the sound of them entering. She stood over the nest, a low growl emanating from her throat.

"Ligers lay eggs?!" Even Luke had the sense to whisper in the face of such a dangerous beast.

"A lot of monsters are born from eggs," Mieu told him. "I was born from an egg, too!"

"Shut up, Thing!" Luke kicked at the cheagle, but Tear rescued him.

"Mieu, why don't you go talk to her? Just ask her to leave this land, please," Ion asked politely.

"Yes, sir!" The cheagle toddled up to the liger, the Sorcerer's Ring hindering his movement. He spoke in a string of "mieu"s, which could apparently be understood by all monsters, but the liger was decidedly not happy with the request. She roared, the cavern shook, and some of the dirt just barely clinging to the roots above dislodged. Guy whipped out his weapon, holding the dull edge up to shatter the rock without it affecting the blade.

"Thank you!" the cheagle squeaked helplessly.

"Watch out, here she comes!" Guy nudged Mieu away as the liger swiped at him with her broad paw.

"Be careful! She says she wants to feed us to her children!"

"Dammit!" Luke joined the battle, catching the liger's blind spot as she attacked Guy.

"Ion, you stay back here with me." Anise led him back a bit.

"Sure, Anise."

"Fang Blade!" Luke swept his sword vertically, and the liger queen howled in pain as the tip just nicked her cheek. She directed her attention to the redhead, and Guy was clear to execute his attacks.

"Crescent Strike!" Blood splashed from the coarse fur of the beast, and she reared back, instinctively firing Third Fonons toward the swordsmen. Guy and Luke were pushed away as the lightning exploded, and Tear soon had her support spell ready. She sang out the elegant lyrics of the fonic hymn, and the liger hesitated.

"Demon Fang!" Guy targeted the queen and let fly a blinding white shock wave across the ground from his blade. It was just enough to sting her, and she whirled again to face the servant.

"It's not dying!" Luke's sword pinged off claw again, deflecting the crushing force to the earth.

"Okay, okay, I've had my fun. If she kills you, then it won't be entertaining anymore, will it, now?" Jade stepped forward confidently.

"Bastard!"

Guy had to admit he agreed with Luke on that one.

"Jade! Why didn't you help us sooner!?"

"Oh, you know..."

The liger queen took them off guard, tackling Guy and pinning him beneath her broad chest.

"Guy! Get up, quick!"

_"O darkened storm cloud, loose they blade and run mine enemies through! Thunder Blade!"_

Luke yanked Guy from under the liger queen just as the hammer of sparks crashed into the liger queen's back, sending her into convulsions. Blue light thundered around them, and her body was completely destroyed from the inside out as the intense voltage shorted her organs instantly.

"Well, that was pitiful." Jade shrugged.

"Whoa... Did... did you see that?" Luke was still staring at the bulk of flesh left quivering from the fonic arte.

"He's definitely not an ordinary fonist," Tear commented.

"Wow! Colonel, you're so cool!" Anise threw herself at him energetically.

"Okay, okay, enough compliments, you," he spoke to all of them in general, but mainly to Anise as he detached her arms from his waist.

"Mieu! You saved me from being liger food!" Mieu bounded up to Guy, begging his attention.

"Huh? Oh, that," Guy knelt to the cheagle. "It's nothing, don't worry about it."

"Let's go tell the elder we got rid of the queen! I'm sure he's worried about us!"

"Ah, I see. You've met with a great danger on our behalf and even kept your promise after two thousand years." The cheagle elder nodded to Jade, who seemed to be leading the group.

"Aiding the cheagles is part of Yulia's teachings." Ion smiled warmly at the small beast. "We're happy to be of assistance."

"We should be on our way..." Jade stated, urging them out in his subtle manner.

"Before you leave, we must repay another debt." the elder stopped him. "Mieu, come here."

"Yes, sir?"

The elder turned to Guy. "Mieu has caused our tribe far too many problems—I am forced to exile him now."

"That's too cruel." Guy frowned.

"I don't mean forever. He will serve you for one cycle of seasons in repayment for your saving his life."

"I—I didn't mean to..." Guy shrugged, seeing his endeavor hopeless. "Okay, then, Mieu. It looks like you're with us from now on. Welcome to the group."

"Glad to join you, Master!"

"My, my," Jade smiled nonchalantly. "Since when are we this 'group', as you speak of so casually? We are mere acquaintances who are soon to go our separate ways."

"Whatever, Colonel!" Anise beamed. "You know you're getting to like this lot!"

"But of course, dear Anise..." Jade smirked. No one there could decipher the true meaning of his facade—Jade was utterly unreadable.

"Great, now this thing is gonna follow us around?" Luke picked up his whining as they left the cheagle's abode, just out of earshot of the elder.

"Looks like it," Jade remarked. "Though, I wouldn't even think of hurting him with Tear around—she obviously won't allow the abuse of cheagles."

"W-what do you mean by that, Colonel?" Tear blushed, cursing herself for letting him, of all people, find out. Well, there wasn't much anyone could do to keep anything from Jade, anyway—he could probably see through walls for all they knew.

"Oh, nothing." He gave a light chuckle with his response.

"Okay, okay, are you two done yet?!" Luke fussed. "Let's get out of this stupid forest all ready!"

"Yes, we shall, Master Luke." Jade continued to grin like a twisted demon. "It's not far to the Tartarus. We should be able to make it within a couple of hours, so long as Luke doesn't lead. Anise, if you would?..."

"Yes, Colonel!" She took Ion's hand, leading the hapless boy in the direction of the landship. "You're staying with me, Ion. Make sure you don't get hurt, okay?"

"Right, Anise!" Ion agreed happily.

Luke watched them in sullen silence, jealous of their friendship. Well, it was no matter, he had Guy as his friend, if no one else. Tear was just as cold as Jade, when it came down to it, and Anise was probably set off by his moody behavior as well. Ion would befriend a rhinossus if he had the chance, so being Ion's friend wasn't saying much.

True to Jade's word, the Tartarus wasn't far, but something seemed amiss. The air seemed to have stilled completely, time itself froze as the sharp colonel halted his group suddenly. Luke started to say something, but Guy silenced him immediately. Jade summoned the fonons that comprised his weapon, holding the spear ready. The others took the hint and kept alert, swords slid against sheathes and staffs made themselves visible.

A blade of grass several yards away twitched, and Jade hurled his spear instantly. The metal head buried itself halfway into the moist ground, and further rustling could be heard. Jade scowled, and the spear snapped out of existence again and back to his hand for another throw.

Luke gazed around, eyes wide and not knowing what to expect. Guy touched his taut arm softly, telling him to stay back. Luke shifted his weight and adjusted his position so he wasn't as close to Guy. The servant nodded, his eyes still fixated on the landship.

Anise made an attempt to take Ion away, but Jade mouthed an opposition, and she stayed put. She slowly reached for Tokunaga, still not daring to draw attention to herself by using him just yet. Tear held her breath, waiting for a signal from Jade and grasping two small knives hard enough to deplete the flow of blood to her fingers. They grew impatient, but made no move until Jade knew exactly what was going on.

The stillness was broken, and all but Jade flinched when they heard the sickening sound of a soldier's body hitting the ground after being flung from a high window on the Tartarus. Luke thought he was about to be sick, and he turned away, but Guy pulled him back. All eyes were fixed on the body. What came next caught them off guard.

* * *

Please review! 

Thanks to my beta, Lanane, for much valuable help with editing and making this fic a little easier on the eyes ;


	4. Land Dreadnaught Tartarus

**Disclaimer:** Well, let's see. This happens to be on and also a story about Tales of the Abyss. _ Fan_. Okay, point is, I don't own the game, the characters, anything—as much as I wish I did. So, if anyone honestly thinks I own the game, I give the rest of the world permission to throw large, blunt objects at said offender. Because that's seriously offensive to the REAL creators of the game—comparing them to me, that is ;) You get the point.

Thanks to all who gave me ideas for this fic. And, of course, to all who review. Much appreciated!

>A/N: Sorry for the long wait! I hope you enjoy this chap--I really liked writing it, that's for sure ;) +gets a head start running for cover+

I'll shut up now.

* * *

"I've found you at last, Necromancer." A small click from behind his head told Jade the assassin was using guns. Guns were not common as handheld weapons, and he could only think of one who even used them.

"Legretta the Quick." He sneered.

"Major Legretta?" Tear spun to face the blond woman.

"You're one of the God-Generals!" Guy struck her hand in an effort to disarm her, but she gave him a swift kick to the stomach, and the swordsman fell back, his phobia restraining his actions far more than her blow.

Legretta jerked her hand away in the process, leaving her open long enough for Jade to force her to the ground.

"Excellent work, Necromancer." She grinned up at him, reaching for the weapons that had been thrown down in the midst of Jade's attack. He kicked them farther away.

"Anise! Hold her here while I help the others! She's not the only one here!"

"Right, Colonel!" Anise released Tokunaga's power, and the doll's proportions swelled tenfold, making it more than enough to keep Legretta down.

Luke heard movement behind him, and when he turned, he found himself face to face with a huge male liger. The beast fixed its jaws around his arm, and Luke winced, expecting it to be snapped under the immense power. The liger didn't bite him hard, however, and as it dragged him down, a birdlike creature revealed itself from the cover of the trees. The bird went for Tear, but she was ready, aiming a knife at it mid-flight. Luke screamed out in fear, but the liger baring down on him made no effort to either hurt him or let him go. Guy heard him, and threw himself with a yell on top of the liger, his sword flashing and whirling. The monster growled and shrugged off the onslaught.

"There you are! You people killed Mommy!" a high-pitched female voice sounded from behind the liger, strained with tears. "Kill them!"

The liger drew blood and Luke yelped, struggling to get out of its grasp.

"Luke!" Guy thrust his blade through the beast's cheek, careful not to hit Luke as well. The liger reared back, finally releasing Luke. The noble ran cover near the Tartarus. Guy was knocked back a few paces, and his blade dislodged itself from the liger's mouth. It buried itself in the ground near the girl, who was hollering and cursing about them "hurting her friends" and "killing Mommy".

Tear, meanwhile, staggered back from the bird, her shoulder blades streaked with slick blood from the creature's talons. She tried to make it to a safer area before even beginning to heal herself. She tripped and almost fell to the ground, but Jade caught her.

"Tear! Stay back! I'll hold it off!"

"Thank you!"

Jade watched the circling hresvelger, waiting for an opening. It flapped wrong just once, and as it tried to right itself, Jade caught it in a deadly arte.

"Thunder Lance!"

The beast lost altitude, stunned, and had no time to heave itself back in the air.

"Sonic Thrust!"

The bird slumped to the ground, lifeless. Jade flicked the excess blood from the spear and let it disperse back to nothing.

"Tear, are you all right?"

"Yes," she panted.

"You've lost far too much blood—it's a wonder you didn't pass out."

"No, really, I'm fine." the Oracle Knight stumbled, and she grabbed Jade's uniform for support.

"Just wait here. I'll see if the Fon Master can heal you; he _is_ a Seventh Fonist."

"Fine." Tear finally gave in. "And make sure Luke is okay, too."

Jade nodded and took off to find the others. He saw no trace of bodies, but there was evidence of a fight regardless. Grass was flattened in violent smears as if someone had been struggling under a great amount of weight, and blood could be seen everywhere, clinging to the flora like black dew.

"Now, Necromancer. Do as I say. We have your friends, so there is no one to rescue you this time."

Jade kept his eyes forward, feeling the steel of a gun's barrel on the back of his neck. He did not respond, nor did he show any hint of timidity.

"Back to the ship." Legretta raised her voice, and Jade saw Luke and Guy from the corner of his eye, guarded by the liger and in the hands of the pink-haired girl. Legretta had her other weapon aimed at the Fon Master and his guardian, who was standing bravely. Tear was still unchecked, but she was in no position to move anyway.

"Arietta," the blond major snapped to her colleague. "Get them back to the Tartarus as soon as you can. We can't keep Largo and the others waiting. We have to be back in Daath with the Fon Master as soon as we can, or else the Commandant won't be happy with us."

"Yes." The sly girl grinned to her liger friend. "The others should be kept alive, too. They will pay for murdering Mommy and my friends!"

Legretta urged them to march, and Arietta followed them, pleased with herself and her charge. Luke gave Guy a confused glance, but the servant only shrugged back at him. The noble directed his attention to the colonel. That man was inhuman—he could just watch them do this and not even flinch. Jade noticed him and gave him an unconcerned smile. Luke glared back at him. Jade shrugged, and he checked on Tear to see how she was faring. The young Seventh Fonist was just barely able to stand, and she shouldn't have been walking, but the God-Generals egged her on. Anise looked about ready to explode from being forced away from Ion. Arietta gave her an evil smirk, taking Ion to walk near her. Ion looked worried, but not much more than anyone else. They advanced quickly, up the steel gangplank and down one of the myriad of hallways that wove through the ship.

"Leave them here," Legretta gave her curt command, and Arietta eagerly locked each in his own room, as the Tartarus had no holding cells available. "I want them fully guarded, day and night. They must not escape."

"Of course." Arietta grinned, neglecting to lock Ion away. "Can Ion stay with me, though?"

"Fine. It would be better if we found a place to hold him where we can personally keep an eye on him anyway."

"That's not what I meant!" Arietta pouted.

"Whatever, just hurry up and get the Oracle Knights down here to watch them. We don't have any time to spare."

Behind the closed doors of the rooms, Jade listened intently. Judging by Legretta's words, the Oracle Knights that were supposed to guard them weren't present yet. If he could take them by surprise...

"O mighty explosion...Energy Blast!" he whispered, and the lock of the door jolted with white-hot fonons.

"Oh?" Legretta banged on the door. "You want out, do you? I'll have you know we had these locks reinforced just for you—all the other doors would have opened for that much, I can assure you."

She slid the key into the door, pushing it open. "I don't think we can leave you like that—you might get more _ideas_."

"Try me!" Jade challenged.

"Oh, I have no intention of fighting you..." She leaned back, confident he couldn't harm her. "You can't do much with your fonic artes sealed, can you?"

The major tossed a black die at Jade, and it created a force field of blue energy. He grunted under the stress, and soon the light disappeared, the small cube of fontech clattering to the floor. He felt shaken; that was a powerful seal, perhaps even the highest grade in circulation. He'd never get it undone within the next half a year or so. He grinned up at the God-General mischievously.

"You've done a wonderful job, Major. I look forward to the next time we meet."

"In your dreams, Necromancer."

She slammed the door forcefully, rejoining Ion and Arietta outside.

"Sorry it took so long, Arietta. The Necromancer was being difficult."

"Oh, that's okay, Major."

Legretta took Ion's hand, and he didn't resist as she led him off down the hallway, whispering to him. "You did wonderfully, Fon Master."

"It was nothing, Major."

Tear was the first one to awaken the next day. She could hardly remember what had happened the night before until she felt the searing pain across her back. She winced, softly chanting a healing spell to ease it.

The room was lit only by a porthole midway up the side of the wall and a faint glow from the fonstones in the hallway. Though the window was fully exposed, the starlight didn't help much to improve the visibility. The door was solid, and she could tell upon further investigation that the lock had been significantly bulked. That was quite the mechanism. That's why Jade hadn't been able to break it--

"Jade?" she called anxiously, suddenly concerned for him after what she'd heard last night—Legretta was speaking to him, and she'd done something—something painful, from the sound of the grunts she'd heard. No answer came, which also confirmed the lack of guards. Were the Oracle Knights careless enough to leave them unguarded, especially at night? This seemed only to worry Tear more, coupled with the fact that there was still no response from the colonel.

"Tear? That you?"

The Seventh Fonist spun to face the voice, but it didn't make much difference, as the heavy steel walls were solid. "Guy?"

"Yeah," his voice sounded distant. "You okay? They didn't hurt you, did they?"

"No." Tear breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe this wasn't the voice she was expecting, but it was better than that unearthly silence.

"Is Luke okay? I thought I saw him on the other side of you."

"I don't know..." she winced and her knees buckled as she clutched her shoulder blades.

"Hey!"

"It's nothing," she mumbled, healing herself absently. "I was hurt in the battle, that's all."

"You sure you're okay?"

Tear grinned slightly. So it wasn't just Luke he obsessed over after all.

"You should get some more rest. It sounds pretty bad."

"No, really, I'm just fine."

"If you say so."

Tear pulled herself onto the cot that was shoved to the corner. She sighed again, and thought she heard breathing from the next room over. She knocked, and this time a prompt reply followed.

"What do you want?!"

"Luke?" Guy had to shout louder to be heard through the door. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." The noble snorted.

Guy started to say something else, but they both stopped when they heard more movement.

"Colonel?!" Anise spoke as if out of nowhere.

"Anise! Don't tell me you were listening the whole time!" Tear berated her.

"Now's not the time to worry about that!" Anise squashed her statement angrily. "Colonel! Are you awake yet?"

Jade gasped a few times, his breath rattled and sounding much more tired than normal. "Damn that Legretta."

"Colonel!"

"Don't even try, Tear. You know you can't heal me from there."

"Jade, what's wrong? What did they do to you?" Guy chimed in.

There was a slight pause and more coughing before he told them. "Fon slot seal."

"Dammit!" Guy pounded the wall of the Tartarus, and the sound echoed around the small chamber.

"It's nothing I can't work out myself," Jade assured him. "It will just take a while." He leaned back to the wall, the weight of the seal making itself known. It was a binding, smothering, undulating power, sapping his very energy and fonons. Jade struggled to keep the strain from his voice as he gave the next command.

"You all just find a way to get out. If that's not possible, you can at least find out where we're headed and--"

Jade fell silent as the sensation of motion vanished, and the whole vehicle swayed forward in the aftermath. There was clanking from outside—it must have been a hatch opening to permit the exit of soldiers. The sound rose in volume, and then quieted after a while, and a single set of footsteps followed them. It took a moment for them to realize the footsteps had doubled, and one set grew louder, closer. It was apparent a knight had entered the hallway, and he had no doubt heard them.

Suddenly, the pounding of sole and steel halted, and a voice whispered into the door.

"Don't say anything. We've stopped in St. Binah. Get out quickly and quietly, and don't let the others see you. I'll create a distraction so you can get out now. When you hear me get far enough down the hall, you may break out, but don't do anything rash."

The click of a lock snapped in each door as the knight went along, but stopped in front of one. After a moment's silence, the knight hesitantly unlatched the door.

"So... we meet again."

* * *

Please review! 

Thanks to my beta, Lanane, for much valuable help with editing and making this fic a little easier on the eyes!


	5. The Fortified City

**Disclaimer:** Well, let's see. This happens to be on and also a story about Tales of the Abyss. _ Fan_. Okay, point is, I don't own the game, the characters, anything—as much as I wish I did. So, if anyone honestly thinks I own the game, I give the rest of the world permission to throw large, blunt objects at said offender. Because that's seriously offensive to the REAL creators of the game—comparing them to me, that is ;) You get the point.

Thanks to all who gave me ideas for this fic. And, of course, to all who review. Much appreciated!

I'll shut up now.

* * *

Jade was the last to leave the Tartarus. He felt a bit annoyed leaving it in the hands of the enemy, but he had no time for that—they were lucky to have made it out alive. He followed Guy, who was just in front of him, to the place Tear had chosen to hide. They crouched under the cover of the bushes that grew up the sides of the palisade that surrounded St. Binah. They waited, listening to the God-Generals discussing their next move just outside the city.

"The next destination is Kaitzur," a female voice stated. "Then we'll be through it and on a ship back to Daath as soon as possible, I assume?"

"Well, _you_ will be," a much younger male commented. "Arietta and I are heading to the Fubras River for the time being."

"Why are you going out of your way like that?" This voice was much older and more mature than the other two.

"The Commandant requested we check on its stability," the boy answered. "He said the miasma would appear there first. You old people are much more susceptible to it than we are, so we'd last longer if it does come."

"Oh, is that so?" the older man questioned. "Well, I'm in no position to disagree with the Commandant..."

Jade pulled Luke, who was closest to the gate where the God-Generals were, back several good paces. Just as the boy was about to protest, he decided better of the action and remained silent when the tall man that had been speaking earlier stepped out right in front of him, back still turned. The group retreated, staying close to the wall and hoping they hadn't been seen. When they were far enough out of earshot, Jade was the first to comment on the conversation.

"So they're going to the Fubras River, then to Kaitzur. That's good to know."

"Useful that may be," Tear pointed out. "But how do we get into the city without their noticing? It did look like they were leaving, but they're sure to leave soldiers covering the gate."

"I'm not so sure about that." Jade nodded back to the area in question. "They know about the tension with Kimlasca—the last thing they need is a war with Malkuth. Even if the Malkuth military has nothing against the Order now, everyone's on edge. There's no telling what would spark a diplomatic incident."

"You've got a point," Tear added wisely. "But what about Ion? They still have him, you know."

"Ion..." Anise sighed. "I'm sorry, Ion. I couldn't get to you."

"That would have gone against the orders of our mystery knight, though, wouldn't it?" Jade said pointedly. "That had to be..."

"Who was it?" Tear wondered out loud. "You can't mean it was!..."

"I'd rather not say until I'm sure." Jade fingered his glasses apprehensively. Tear gave Luke a lingering glance.

"W-what?!" Luke pouted. "Do you expect _me_ to know him?"

Jade shook his head thoughtfully. "_Know_ indeed..."

Dawn was just beginning to shed its light on the citadel when the Oracle Knights were called back to the Tartarus. Luke was growing tired of the wait; it had been at least two hours since they had broken out, and all he had to do was listen to who Guy had identified as Sync the Tempest and his immediate subordinates inspecting the battalion. When they finally left, the group was still held back by Jade to make sure the coast was clear.

"Is it safe yet?" Luke poked his head from the cover of the underbrush.

"It should be," Jade confirmed. "If they're leaving now, then they have no intention of staying longer."

"We need a place to stay for the night," Tear added. "We could try to make it to Kaitzur, but we'd be walking in the hottest hours of the day, so we'll only be biding our time out in the open if we can't reach the Fubras by nightfall. If the God-Generals are heading there as well, we'd be in danger of an ambush."

"Indeed." Jade agreed, adjusting his glasses. "You seem to have things well thought out, Tear."

"It's nothing, Colonel Curtiss."

"Please," The Malkuthian shrugged offhandedly. "Call me Jade. My family name sounds so formal."

Guy crept up from behind the three, giving his report to Jade. "They plan to be out by noon, just after they restock the ship. It looks like they still haven't noticed our disappearance."

"Oh, dear, this could be bad." Jade put on such an expression that Luke actually wondered if he was being serious for once. "It's possible they have noticed but are waiting for us to make a move before they do anything."

"Or maybe they left troops in the city and are waiting for us to enter," Anise noted worriedly.

"Shall I continue to watch them?" Guy offered.

"Yes, that would be most helpful." The smile returned to Jade's face, and Luke couldn't tell if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

"Right." Guy sneaked back around to the front gates of the city.

"Fascinating how a Kimlascan knows so much about Malkuthian geography," Jade mused after the blond had left.

"It's no big deal, Colonel." Anise winked.

"It's still a rather thought-provoking fact, though..."

"Oh, hell!" Guy dashed back to his hiding spot behind Jade. "Get away, they saw me!"

Jade's eyes narrowed, but he didn't scold Guy. "Quick, get back!"

Luke felt Tear pull him forcibly behind the wall. The ground was significantly lower here, and the vegetation was much thicker and wetter than that of the other sides. Luke held his breath, trying to resist pointing out how aggravating the tall ferns' soggy leaves were when they slapped against his back. Jade waited, and voices could be heard on the still air.

"...sure they went back here?"

"Positive, Chief!"

Luke recognized the voice as Sync's, and he heard the soft squelch of his footsteps on the mud. After a moment's antagonizing silence, the green-haired boy turned back to the soldier that had seen them.

"Get back to the others, now, and make sure you actually have a target before you drag your superiors out of their way next time!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Pull all the troops out, there's no point in staying here. There's no way they'd still be here—if they were that desperate to get away, they would be much farther away by now."

"Aye, sir!" The soldier ran as fast as his armor would allow, and Sync followed hesitantly. He glanced back, and Luke could have sworn the younger boy made eye contact with him, but neither showed any sign of recognition. The God-General trotted off dutifully.

"Well, well," Jade hummed. "It seems your little error actually did some good, Guy."

"So, now we can just head in? Sweet!" Anise bounded ahead of even Luke, who was all ready leaping from the ditch.

"Finally," Luke grumbled. Tear didn't reprimand him anything this time; after the capture, he seemed to have let up on the complaints. Maybe he was finally realizing the pointlessness of whining. She could only hope he would stay that way until she was able to get him back home, but Tear knew better than to get her hopes up.

"We should probably ask around for help to heal Tear when we stop by," Guy suggested as the small party picked its way through the bushes, still wary of the Oracle Knights. "She seems to be pretty hurt, and this town is known for its abundance in medicines."

"I'm fine..." the woman in question protested.

"An excellent idea." Jade smiled over his shoulder at the servant, ignoring her. "It would be wise for us to stay the night as well—the God-Generals might linger near the Rugnican Plains awhile longer before heading off to their next destination."

They entered through the town's grandly decorated gates after being granted permission by the Malkuthian guard. Tear remained alert, still convinced the Oracle Knights were waiting to capture them.

"You may do as you please for the remainder of the day," Jade told them when they had gotten inside. "I'll head to the inn and book some rooms—meet back there at nine."

Jade gave Luke a pointed look, and the boy fussed back moodily. "Hey, I'm not _that_immature!"

"I meant nothing against you, Master Luke," Jade continued as Guy gave the noble a warning glance. "As I was saying, you are free to explore the city if you wish. I suggest someone escort Tear to a doctor as soon as possible, and another take care of the shopping."

"I'll do that, then," Guy agreed. "Luke, you take care of Tear. You don't know an apple from an orange, anyway."

Luke shot him a nasty glare and mouthed a word that was none too nice, but he reluctantly agreed.

"Come on, Mieu." Guy picked up the cheagle, deftly placing it on his shoulder. "You can help me pick out some food and gels and stuff, okay?"

"Yes, Master! We can get lots and lots of mushrooms to eat!"

Guy winced slightly, as he realized he never should have made the mistake of allowing the monster to sit so close to his ear. He just hoped he'd walk away from this with the hearing in his left ear still intact. "Sure, Mieu, we can buy some mushrooms, too."

The group dispersed shortly, except for Anise, who was unsure of what to do. She saw Luke and Tear heading to the residential area of the town. Tear was leading Luke, actually, but still visibly cringing at each step, as each step sent a fresh wave of pain through her back. Luke was oblivious, of course, his gaze floating from flowers to trees and back to the merchants' area before rolling off the military base seated just off the main square.

Anise shrugged and turned to help Guy with the groceries. Luke was obnoxious, anyway, and she herself made for a fairly decent cook, so her ability to select ingredients would be of much aid to the hapless man.

Luke finally stumbled into the apothecary after the melodist. He would have wandered off on his own a long time ago had Jade not given him such a_look_—a look that so clearly said "disobey and you die." It was one of the few discernible expressions the soldier was able to convey.

"Excuse me," Tear approached the counter. "I just need a few apple gels and a simple bandage, please."

"Sure," the clerk responded. "Who's hurt? You want us to dress the wound for you?"

"No, that's not a problem," Tear said quickly. "I'll be fine; I'm a Seventh Fonist, so I heal myself when I can. This will just speed things up."

"Of course," The man bent below the counter, returning shortly with a package of the gel medicine and a box from which he drew a roll of gauze. He handed the items to Tear and told her the price.

"That's four hundred gald."

"Here." Tear let the change clatter to the smooth counter top. She gathered the gear, thanked the man, and turned back to Luke. The boy gave a heavy sigh and opened the door for her, but he said nothing. Tear was glad; every second he kept his mouth shut meant one less one less opportunity for him to whine.

As they reached the square where they were supposed to meet back up with Jade, Tear felt her bad arm grasped roughly from the side. Luke was in a similar situation, and he didn't have any time to react before he was disarmed by whoever was behind them. Tear struggled to reach her knives, but the two knights that restricted her dragged her back out the entrance. Luke noticed Jade, Anise, and Guy being pulled in the same manner, and finally made the connection that these had to be Oracle Knights—they hadn't left the city, after all.

"Hey, what are you!--" Tear started, but she was stricken by her captor before the sentence could be completed.

Luke decided not to make the same mistake and saved himself the pain of a metal gauntlet across his cheek, so he stopped twisting and straining to get loose and let the Oracle Knight take him back aboard the Tartarus, which was just outside the city gates.

They were thrown into holding again, but this time, they weren't locked up separately because "they were easier to watch all in one place". Luke was shoved in after Tear and Anise, but Guy was held back when the door was slammed to their faces. Jade kept to the back of the room, grinning his heart out, and making wry comments about the situation.

"Guy!" Luke pounded the door, but there was no answer.

"What could they want from him?..." Jade wondered.

"Do you have an idea, Colonel?" Anise asked him. "And what about Ion? He's still being held by the God-Generals, too!"

"I'm not sure," Jade stalled.

"Colonel, if you know anything, please share," Tear commanded.

"No, it's nothing." Jade shook his head. Tear sighed, knowing full well he was lying, but there was no way she would get an answer out of him.

Guy was led down a different hall. The knights had released him, but he had no opportunity to escape, as he was both disarmed and flanked by soldiers.

They stopped near a door identical to the other ones, and Guy was pushed in. The lock clicked behind him. He didn't resist; it would do him no good, anyway. Instead, he glanced around the room. It was nothing special—just an ordinary living quarters for soldiers working on the landship. At the desk in the middle of the room sat Legretta the Quick and Ion beside her.

"Gailardia Galan Gardios," she stated the servant's full name. "the Commandant has many stories to tell of you."

"Oh, this is about Van" Guy's face hardened at his former guardian's name.

"Yes." the God-General eyed him carefully. "Please, sit down, Gailardia."

"Don't worry, Guy," Ion reassured him. "We mean you no harm. I'm sorry I can't tell you the details now, but don't worry."

Guy did as he was bid, still tight-lipped and resolute. He trusted Ion, but the boy was so easily tricked into anything, so he couldn't be sure.

"Dorian General Grants requests that I deliver to you a letter of his own hand." Legretta slowly revealed an envelope from below the table.

Guy went to reach for it, then hesitated, watching the woman. "Drop it."

"If you insist." She tossed it across the table to him, smiling to herself. "Your phobia, is it?"

Guy ignored her comment and tore the neatly sealed envelope open. He read the letter, which was no more than a few scribbled words from Van, then looked back up to Legretta.

"What's in it for me?"

"For one thing, you'll be back on the winning side," she spoke quietly, but kept her eyes forward. "and we spare your friends' lives. We have them captive now, as you saw, and we have the Fon Master. Eliminating them would only do us well."

"No!" Guy stood sharply, the chair skidding back several inches. "You won't hurt them! Fon Master, what does she mean?!"

"Guy, just calm down. As I said, I can't give full detail. You just have to trust me here."

"Indeed," Legretta looked back at his eyes. They were nothing more than a blur of rage and concern. "All you have to do is cooperate."

Guy trembled for a few moments before finally letting his fist hit the tabletop stiffly. "Fine. Just let us go, and I'll join you. But remember that doesn't mean I will stay on your side."

"The Commandant merely asks you allow him the chance to speak with you." Legretta stood also, edging closer to him. "Then you will make your final decision. Speak of this to no one, or else you will face the consequences."

"Thank you for understanding, Guy," Ion nodded to the Malkuthian.

Guy's mind went numb, and he was only just there as Legretta called the guards back and took him to where Luke and the others were. Ion had to be telling the truth—that poor kid couldn't tell a lie if he wanted to. Surely he could trust the Fon Master.

* * *

Please review! 

Thanks to my beta, Lanane, for much valuable help with editing and making this fic a little easier on the eyes!


	6. Across the Fubras

**Disclaimer:** Well, let's see. This happens to be on and also a story about Tales of the Abyss. _ Fan_. Okay, point is, I don't own the game, the characters, anything—as much as I wish I did. So, if anyone honestly thinks I own the game, I give the rest of the world permission to throw large, blunt objects at said offender. Because that's seriously offensive to the REAL creators of the game—comparing them to me, that is ;) You get the point.

Thanks to all who gave me ideas for this fic. And, of course, to all who review. Much appreciated! No seriously, I'm not just saying things. I know I've been horrible as to replying to reviews, but I'll do better! I mean it:)

A/N: Okay, I'd like to thank Medomai (Apakoha) for much help with this chapter... Sure, she won't admit it, but she's gotten me out of a lot of tight spots... :)

I'll shut up now.

* * *

The next day, the party arrived at Fubras River by noon. After much convincing, Jade finally allowed them to pause for a break when Tear argued that they should avoid being active in the heat of the day. 

They had set up an impromptu picnic. They ate sparingly from the supplies they'd bought in St. Binah, as they didn't have much; they had saved their money for the high prices in Kaitzur. As it was right on the border, the town had issues with restocking the few stores available, so the prices were incredible.

Luke had finished his portion first, and he sat staring up at the cloudless sky framed by the pillars of rock that bordered the river. Guy watched over him closely, but didn't say anything. After the abduction on the Tartarus, no one had questioned his disappearance, though they were all curious as to why they'd been released so easily. Jade's logical reasoning was something along the lines of "If he's not telling us, they must have told him to keep it a secret and threatened to lock him in a room full of women to make sure he upholds it."

Regardless of past events, all five were in a relatively good mood. Until now, there was always someone mad at something, but for now, even Jade and Luke were at peace. The crisp day coupled with the light banter they exchanged only helped the matter further.

Luke stood up from his comfortable position on the ground.

"Hey, Luke, where are you going?" Always on the alert, Guy was quick to monitor Luke's every movement.

"Just going check out those rocks." The noble swung his arms absently, trotting off closer to the water's edge. The spires of stone were indeed impressive, but Guy would hear none of Luke's putting himself in unnecessary danger.

"Oh no, you're not," warned Guy. "The water is extremely dangerous—even if the current doesn't look like much, it's a lot swifter than you think."

"Come on!" The other three groaned inwardly at Luke'sresponse; it looked like this would last a good while.

"Fine." Guy was too tired to argue any further. "But wait for me."

Luke rolled his eyes, ignoring his servant. He had no right to order him around like that! The attention was nice and all, but sometimes, Guy just treated him like a baby. If only he could just--

"LUKE!" Tear could honestly say she had never seen the blond swordsman run so fast and scream so loud. He tore across the field to the noble's side in an instant. She touched her lip hesitantly. Anise looked about ready to die laughing, and Jade's grin was peerless in grandeur.

"Luke?! Luke, are you okay?!" Guy held Luke carefully as the oblivious noble realized his stupidity and obliviousness in one horrifyingly sickening instant.

"My, Luke, did you have to look _that_ close to see the rocks?" Even with Jade's permanent smile, it was apparent he was _especially_ amused now. "See what you've done now? You've given poor Guy an aneurysm, and yourself a sizable bruise, for that matter."

Luke's face was flushed an indescribable shade of red as he rubbed his forehead angrily. He shoved Guy away harshly and kicked the tower of stone that was no more than six inches from his face.

"_Shut up_!" he shouted, drowning out the ever-growing laughter.

"Do you need me to heal you?" Tear replied in as steady a voice as she could muster.

"NO." Luke snorted, angrily flinging Guy away as he advanced again, a look of genuine concern on his face.

"Are you _sure_, Luke?" Jade confirmed, almost on the verge of laughter himself. The colonel never laughed unless it was for the benefit of making fun of others, which wasn't very often. Anise was beyond all hope of salvation. Tears flowed freely down her cheeks as she collapsed backward to the ground. With each second of this, Luke's rage built even further.

"Everyone just _shut up!_" The bruise on his head was barely visible next to the blood rushing to his face.

"Master, is Luke all right?" Mieu questioned Guy innocently.

"Yes, Mieu, he's juuuuuust fine."

"Luke, should a young noble such as yourself really be acting in such a manner?" asked Jade.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Anise righted herself as much as possible. "Luke is a noble? As in _rich?_"

"_Yes,_ he is." Jade pushed his glasses up slightly. Knowing Anise, Luke was doomed for sure now if he wasn't all ready.

"Oh, Luke," Anise said loftily. "You poor thing! That must hurt a lot!"

"W-What's with her?!"

"Aw, don't worry, Luke!" Anise darted to the boy and gave him a sudden hug before he could resist. "I'll make them stop making fun of you!"

"Hey!" Luke pulled the girl's arms from his waist. "Guy... Do something about her!"

"No way!"

"Oh, Guy..." Anise edged closer to the servant. He took an equal number of steps in the opposite direction.

"Get away!"

"Ugh, these _men_," Tear huffed, finally regaining her composure. "Stop playing around, you two, we need to get going."

"Must we spoil the moment?" Jade shrugged unhappily. "They are having_ so_ much fun."

"Be that as it may, we can't linger here all day. Sync and Arietta could show up any minute now."

"That they could," Jade agreed, his smile fading. "It would be best to move out."

"Boo, Colonel," Anise pouted.

"In all seriousness, we should never have gotten so distracted. They could ambush us at any time." Jade gathered their supplies hurriedly.

"Right." Guy nodded. "Are you ready, Luke?"

There was no answer. Guy spun, nervously glancing around the immediate vicinity. "...Luke?"

"You shouldn't have pushed him like that," Tear muttered to no one in particular. Raising her voice, she continued to search for the redhead. "Luke? Luke, we didn't really mean--"

Tear was knocked back by a large form hurling itself from the cover of the nearby forest. She stumbled back, grappling for her knives. Her wound made her flinch as the creature swatted her back with its tail. Jade was in action, dropping the supplies. The beast had a wingspan of about six feet, and it was baring down on the group. Jade was just about to strike it when he saw it had Luke in its claws.

"Luke!--"

Luke was unconscious, and the great bird had no trouble hefting its load past the colonel and through the clearing. Guy and Anise had their weapons ready, but it had gained too much altitude, and soared just over their heads. All four sets of eyes followed the monster as it ripped through the sky just past them and to the other end of the river.

"Luke!" Guy tore through the water, heedless of all else besides the monster and its charge. The others followed, though not as recklessly, calling for him to slow down.

"Guy, wait!" Tear panted to keep up with the other four, her injury still slowing her down.

"Guy," Jade barked sharply. "Hold up, Guy. It could be a trap!"

The blond halted suddenly, and the others had trouble matching it. It was a sight none of them wanted to see, and they only hoped it would not end in a battle.

But that was highly unlikely.

Sync the Tempest and Arietta the Wild held Luke captive. The eagle dropped him to a liger's back, and Guy could barely hold himself back from running to him.

"So you came. We were expecting you." Sync scowled at the party.

"You'll pay for killing Mommy and my friends!"

"Arietta, we never killed your mother or anyone else! What are you talking about?" Anise shot back.

"You killed her! You barged into her home in the Cheagle Woods and just killed her right there! You even killed my brothers and sisters, too!"

"In the Cheagle Woods?" uttered Jade. "Do you mean the liger queen and her nest, by any chance?"

"That was Mommy!" Arietta wailed.

"That's right," Anise spoke up. "Gloomietta was only admitted as a God-General because she can communicate with monsters. They say she was raised by them, too, ever since she lost her parents."

"What do you want with Luke?!" Tear growled defensively.

"None of your business," Sync sneered.

Jade took his opportunity. Sync was only distracted in the slightest, but Jade lunged, his spear outstretched. Sync sidestepped, but not enough to dodge the blow entirely. The keen blade sliced through his uniform, drawing blood easily.

"Damn!" Sync leaped aside more quickly once he felt the steel, and he perched on a nearby boulder. "I'll kill you!"

The famed Tempest launched himself from the rock, gathering fonons. He drew the glyph from one of the tags attached to his arm and scored the array into Jade's right arm as he passed. It all happened in one quick motion, but no one registered the attack as anything more than a near miss. God-Generals did not become God-Generals by making simple mistakes.

"Jade!" Tear knelt by the colonel, who had fallen to his knees shortly after Sync's assault. "Wait, I'll heal you."

"We don't have time!" Jade nodded to Arietta and her beasts, who were moving out swiftly.

The sky seemed to shake suddenly, and it took all five a moment to realize it was not the sky that was moving. The ground rumbled, and the crust split in jagged ridges.

"The miasma?!" Tear identified the poisonous mist that poured from the crack that had formed. Arietta was caught just near a rift, and she gave a hollow scream before being overtaken by the fog. The liger carrying Luke fared no better, and it also passed out on the spot.

"Arietta!" Sync hissed angrily. He swept her from the danger zone, but left Luke and the liger in his haste.

"Tear, what are you doing?!" Guy charged for Luke, shouting over his shoulder at the melodist. Jade stopped him with a firm hand.

"Fonic hymns, Yulia's fonic hymns?! I thought they were too difficult for anyone to decipher!"

As the melody finished, a cage of fonons formed around them, then faded, the miasma with it.

"It won't last long!" she gasped, her ever-present wound punishing her every action, pain shooting through her upper body despite all her efforts to heal it.

When the obscuration dissolved, Sync was nowhere to be found.

* * *

Please review! 

Thanks to my beta, Lanane, for much valuable help with editing and making this fic a little easier on the eyes!


	7. The Frontier Fortress

**Disclaimer:** Well, let's see. This happens to be on and also a story about Tales of the Abyss. _ Fan_. Okay, point is, I don't own the game, the characters, anything—as much as I wish I did. So, if anyone honestly thinks I own the game, I give the rest of the world permission to throw large, blunt objects at said offender. Because that's seriously offensive to the REAL creators of the game—comparing them to me, that is ;) You get the point.

Thanks to all who gave me ideas for this fic. And, of course, to all who review. Much appreciated!

A/N: Yay, this one's not a space filler, I swear. Also, the two chapters coming after this one may be my last for a while--as stated in my bio, I am entering this year's NaNoWriMo, so I probably won't get to updating this for a while...

I'll shut up now.

* * *

Reluctantly, Jade permitted them to set up camp. and stay the by the river until Luke woke up. He pointed out how insects swarmed near water, bringing the froglike monsters that preyed on them, and how both of these things would not please the young noble. Regardless of all practical decision making, Guy begged the colonel to let Luke rest, at least for the night. Jade eventually gave up, and they sat licking their wounds over supper. 

"Anise and I are fine," Guy counted off each party member for the benefit of Tear. "And you're okay, unless you count that nasty scrape you got yesterday. Jade is--"

"Fine," the older man brushed away the issue. "But what of your beloved?"

"What?" It took Guy a moment to realize what he meant. "Hey! What do you mean by _that?!_"

"You can't deny that's how you've been acting." Tear smiled.

"Only the honest truth," Jade said sincerely.

"I do not--"

"Oh, he's finally waking up." Tear broke off the steady stream of healing magic she had been applying to Luke. She doubted her presence would have barred Guy from hovering over Luke as he was prone to do.

"Luke? You okay?"

Luke moaned and rolled over on his side, clutching his head in pain.

"Did they hurt you? Let me heal it." Tear gently combed through his long hair until she felt the lump where Sync had stricken him. She let the Seventh Fonons flow easily, and he was soon back up.

"Welcome back, Luke," Jade chided.

"Oh, my poor prince!" Anise tackled Luke almost as hard as Guy. "I was so worried about you!"

"Can you walk?" Jade interjected abruptly.

"Yeah," said Luke flatly as he stood, knocking Anise and Guy away rudely.

"We should be going as soon as we can. We've been here long enough," Jade voiced impatiently. "There's no telling what the God-Generals intend to use Ion for."

"That's right, Luke!" Anise perked up. "We have to find Ion!"

"Ion..." Guy's gaze shifted to the horizon, his thoughts drifting to the Fon Master's words on the Tartarus. The fiery sunset tinged his hair almost the shade of Luke's, and he was lost in the peace of graceful clouds fluttering past the orb of light. So brilliant, and his own dilemma was forgotten for a moment--until Anise interrupted him.

"Guy? Something wrong?"

"N-No, nothing," he said shakily.

"You saw Ion on board the Tartarus, didn't you?" Everyone fell silent for what seemed like hours before a response to Jade's comment was heard. There was no point in hiding anything from Jade.

"Yes."

"What did he tell you?" Even Luke was interested.

"Nothing," Guy lied. "I only passed by him, and he was surrounded by guards. That's all."

"I see..." Jade obviously didn't believe him. "Well, all I can do for now is leave the matter alone. You aren't going to tell us the truth anyway; interrogating you would merely be a waste of time and effort. Speaking of time, we should get moving. It's dangerous to travel at night. We can probably make it to Kaitzur in an hour or so."

"Yes." Tear gave Guy a wary glance. "The plains are no more dangerous than this river. It's likely the presence of Arietta's monsters has agitated the natural inhabitants."

"But I'm _tired_," Luke whined, folding his arms.

Guy gave him a glare that shut the noble up instantly. He himself wasn't in the mood for a pressed march, but he could especially do without the complaining. Besides, it was _Jade_ who had given the order. There was no way they could convince him to rest even longer.

Luke returned the gesture with a hurt look, but he kept quiet.

"Everyone ready?" Jade met each one's eyes in turn. Luke retrieved his weapon from where Sync had discarded it in the dense weeds growing just at the water's edge. He mumbled under his breath as he shook water from the leather sheathe, careful to avoid the rocks on this side. He returned to the group.

"Ready."

* * *

The walk to Kaitzur was exhausting. It took three hours even at the fastest pace they could manage and with minimal conflict from monsters. No one said anything, and Luke was positive he had fallen asleep on the move, Jade being the only threat and motivation to keep him in the frame of mind to just put one foot in front of the other over and over and over again. He'd never known the act of walking to be so repetitive and hypnotic.

The border fortress was heavily guarded. After being permitted to enter, the first thing Jade did was book two rooms at the inn. There was a rather haggard argument over who would be the first to shower, but soon it was decided that not even that was worth holding themselves upright for another minute. They went straight to bed.

Luke slept fitfully that night. He could have sworn he'd heard a door open, voices, and footsteps, but he could remember none of it upon wakening. Then again, he was too groggy to conjure his own name the next morning as well.

"You kids are so lucky," Jade said airily. Too airily, as far as Luke was concerned, and it should be against the very laws of nature to be so chipper after a solid day of walking and on only six hours of sleep. "This nice old colonel let you sleep in. Isn't that wonderful?"

"I'm honored," Luke spat, seeing the time as being only about thirty minutes later than usual.

"Oh, and Luke," he continued. "We were promised a five percent remission of our bill if we did our own laundry."

"Anise again, huh?" Luke guessed.

"But of course." Jade shrugged as though the Oracle Knight in question was the most difficult person on Auldrant.

"Fine," groaned Luke. Stripping his bed was far less draining than arguing with Jade. Hell, even if he _was_ in the state to do such a thing, that devil would have him reduced to the equivalent of his current state in seconds.

As he was well at work peeling the pillows from their threadbare cases, Luke's eye caught sight of a slip of paper on his nightstand. Curious as to why he hadn't seen it the previous night, he reached forward, the bedding spilling from his arms, and tryied to tell himself it had been there but he was just too out of it to have noticed. Regardless of his doubts, Luke unfolded the paper and read the message scrawled across it. His eyes widened, and he fought back a gag, quickly glancing over his shoulder to make sure Jade hadn't noticed. Luckily, the colonel was busy with his own task at hand. Luke stuffed the note into his pocket as casually as he could, hiding the motion behind an exaggerated toss of the heap of sheets into a corner.

"Um, Jade," he mouthed carefully. "Have you seen Guy anywhere?"

"Oh, he's sleeping in the lobby. He probably couldn't get to sleep last night with all your snoring." Jade responded thoughtfully.

Luke shot him a venomous glare, but he refused to say anything and risk fueling the colonel's high good humor. That would surely be the path to absolute verbal destruction.

Luke thanked Lorelei when he heard a knock on the door that removed any further opportunity for Jade's bitter remarks.

"Are you guys up yet? Can I come in?" It was Anise, and she was clearly anxious to get moving again.

"Yeah, you can come in," Luke pulled the door open gustily, admitting the girl.

"Oh, Luke, you're so kind!" she pinned the noble to the wall that was conveniently just behind him.

"Yeah, yeah." He shoved her away. "What did you come here for?"

"I was just wondering when we could get going. Tear's all ready out eating breakfast, and I've been ready to leave for an hour!"

Luke drew out his moan past the point of reasonable. "I can't believe how you people can march all day, fall asleep for a few hours, and do it again at the crack of dawn!"

"_We_ have been doing something with our lives," Jade admonished the boy.

"Like it's my fault I was never allowed out of the manor!" Luke raged before storming downstairs. He just had to get away from that bastard before he made him go insane!

"What's bugging him?" Anise peered after Luke innocently.

"I think Guy's disappearance is bothering him."

"Guy left?! When?"

"During the night, it seems. Luke knows more about it than we do; I noticed he found a note earlier—that had to be from Guy."

"I wonder what it could be... Colonel, do you think it has anything to do with Ion? Guy got really weird yesterday when I mentioned him..."

"Perhaps." Jade narrowed his eyes after the boy, who was long gone by then. "But we can't worry about that now. Let's have some breakfast, shall we?"

Jade and Anise found Luke sitting at a table with Tear. The two spoke quietly to each other, and simple observation could tell that Tear was actually being patient with him. Anise considered the possibility that Luke wasn't being obnoxious for once, but then dismissed the thought, as that just wasn't plausible. She snickered and made an attempt to get closer to make eavesdropping easier, but Jade held her back. She looked up at him sheepishly and stopped after receiving one of his_ grins._

"So Guy...left? Why would he ever do that?"

"I don't know! I just don't want Guy to... I don't want him to leave me like this!"

"It's fine, Luke," Tear whispered, somehow feeling sorry for the boy. Had he really lost his memory to that great of an extent? He was like a child, and he needed support, even if he really didn't deserve it sometimes.

"I don't know anything! I don't have anyone else to _talk_ to... Jade is mean and Anise only wants money! Guy's the only one who cares..." Tear winced at his statement. Now that was just a bit selfish. Had they not put up with him this long? She nervously glanced back and happened to notice Anise and the colonel standing in the threshold to the lobby's dining area.

"Oh, hi Anise, Colonel." Tear waved to them distractedly.

"See what I mean?!" Luke sighed angrily, jumping up from the table. "You guys just!... You know what?! I'll get through the border on my own, passport or not! I'm the Duke's son! Watch them hold me back; I'm going find Guy!" He stormed out the door, and the few other people mingling in the hall turned to stare for a moment.

"Luke!" Tear muttered under her breath. Jade and Anise made their way over.

"What's wrong with the young master?" Jade mused, seemingly only half-interested.

"He thinks he can just do whatever he wants and go look for Guy on his own." Tear was quick to follow the rash noble. "I'd like a word with him."

Outside, a strange scene was unfolding. Tear found Luke one the ground, helpless at the sword point of an Oracle Knight. She couldn't properly identify the man, as another person was blocking her view—her brother.

"Van!" Knives flew to her hands, and Tear took up a fighting stance. He hadn't heard her.

"Asch... Don't ignore my orders! Stand down!"

The God-General tossed his head to the side and retreated with an elegant leap to the other side of the border without arguing. Whatever his motive, it may not have been worth risking a demotion to fulfill.

"Master Van!" Luke's mood reversed instantly as he practically bounded back to his feet.

"Tear." Van turned to his sister. "Put away your weapon. Let me explain."

"Give me a good reason to!"

"Tear! Stop!" Luke raged, throwing himself in front of her. "You're crazy!"

"Ugh," she grunted in disgust. "Fine, we can talk, but don't expect me to agree with anything you say..." She shot a pointed look through Luke at her brother. "Or even believe it."

Luke was too excited about seeing Van to stay mad at Tear. "Why did you come here, Master?"

"I'll tell you everything, just wait a moment—we don't need anyone else hearing. Let's take it to the inn, all right?"

Guy glanced back over his shoulder sadly. What had he done? Van had come and taken him... and he'd willingly agreed to help the bloody bastard. But he was... Guy wrenched his vision from the Frontier Fortress' shrinking silhouette on the horizon. Every step that took him farther away from the town jolted his conscience and he had to fight to keep from rushing back to Luke. How the poor boy must feel now! Guy shook his head and focused on the Fon Master.

"How are you doing?"

"I'm fine." The young Fon Master smiled up at him. "You're doing a wonderful job of protecting me!"

"It's nothing."

"By the way, I'm glad you've decided to help us, Guy."

Guy almost forgot himself and made a flat out beeline for the border at Ion's abrupt statement. "I-I haven't thought it out yet. Give me more time before I commit to anything, Fon Master."

"Guy?" Ion halted to gaze into the blond's eyes. "Do you not trust me?"

"I-It's not that." Guy tossed a sentence together hastily. "I just don't like leaving Luke..."

"That's understandable," Ion picked up their placid walk again. "You've just been ripped from the person you care about most."

Guy felt another verbal punch. Ion sure knew how to hit his weak spots. Who did he care about most?... Luke? No, he was the son of his family's greatest enemy—not that he _had_ any family left after the Duke ruthlessly slaughtered them. Who then, did he care for?...

"I'm not sure if that's entirely true, Fon Master..."

"You may call me Ion," he said gently. "But what do you mean?"

"Well... I've never been especially close to anyone before..."

"Then we can be friends." Ion grinned innocently at the swordsman.

"Okay, Ion," Guy laughed. "I'll do anything you ask without question from now on. I'm sorry I doubted you."

"You make it sound like you're a slave, Guy!" Ion chided. "And you don't have to apologize!"

"Okay, then."

The remainder of the journey was just as silent as the beginning, but now the lack of words was in quiet bonding rather than tension. Guy was still uneasy, but immediately felt guilty for his misjudgment of the Fon Master. He should never have been so hard on the boy—he really was just the honest soul he appeared to be. Perhaps Guy's traumatic past and vengeful purposes had remained habit. But he was sure now that no skill of acting could move him in such a way. And Van... Ion was with Van. But maybe Van was right, too. He had been Guy's faithful guardian—even if that was some years ago; he had pledged his sword to the Gardios family. Such an action was not to be taken lightly.

Still further support stemmed from Van's calm but steady reasoning the prior night—The Hod War was foretold in the Score. Man had done nothing to prevent the fall of Hod, and countless lives could have been saved had action been taken. Had something been done—evacuations, even, if nothing could prevent its collapse—it would have been different. But no, the Order let Hod and the Isle of Feres just wash away in a tide of blood, simple as that. So this... This was the Score. A thing thought of so highly, yet so abused.

Guy considered voicing his musings, but Ion's carefree demeanor was too beautiful an example of peace to disturb. However, Guy's feelings refused to leave, and guilt for what he'd done to Luke still hung over his mind like a shroud of miasma. Luke was probably so lost right now, helpless, and by Yulia it wasn't the poor kid's fault! He needed to be there for him, but Ion needed him now, as well.

_What the hell was he supposed to do!?_

* * *

Please review! 

Thanks to my beta, Lanane, for much valuable help with editing and making this fic a little easier on the eyes!


	8. Choral Castle

**Disclaimer:** Don't own TotA, sadly.

**A/N: ** Those who noticed may now point and laugh. Thanks to darkangel, who was the first to have the joy of... noticing. Yeah. :shot:

* * *

The rest of the day had passed in a whirl. Luke was still very much confused and as tired as when he'd woken up. Jade made some wry comments about not being able to travel at all that day, but he seemed to be seriously concerned. Van ended up staying with them, and both Tear and the colonel were astounded as to his ability to keep them occupied for so long. Jade was probably the most distraught, but he surely didn't let on to it, the only indication that he was in his excessive kneading of his brow. Jade still wasn't quite sure how he'd let the day slip by so easily; it had to be Van's amiable conversation with Luke upon just meeting up with him again followed by an extensive description on the Seventh Fonstone, the Order of Lorelei, and various other matters for the benefit of the noble. By then, it was two hours past noon—it was then that Jade deemed the day lost. There was no way they could make it all the way to Kaitzur Naval Port in half an afternoon, so here they were. At least they'd made it to Kimlasca with the help of the passports Van had brought for them. Jade made a mental note to wake them up an hour early the following morning to make up some of the time they'd lost. 

Tear was still fuming that night. She could have sworn her shoulders hadn't relaxed an inch the entire day. Her shoulder was still excruciatingly painful, but it was healing. If it hadn't been for the awkward poultices strapped around her chest that needed to be changed twice a day, she wouldn't have had Van out of her sight for a second. He didn't deserve trust from anyone. The others seemed relatively comfortable around them, and she was often concerned that perhaps she was the one that was wrong to still doubt him. She pushed the thought from her mind. No, his terrible plan was all too real, and Van was a brilliant man. He knew who could know what and only gave just enough information to keep everyone safely on his side. She scowled, mentally reminding him that he'd be minus a sister in whatever crazy plot he was fabricating.

The following morning wasn't much of an improvement. Anise had everyone up earlier than even the colonel, banging on doors and hollering about finding Ion. As Luke pulled himself out of bed, he wondered whether the young Oracle Knight was competing with Jade to see who could have more of them up earlier. It was getting easier to wake up by the day—his body was getting used to the lack of sleep coupled with the mass amounts of walking, and Luke was relieved when the soreness in his calves finally showed signs of fading. Though he didn't notice, the other soldiers he was traveling with were equally grateful to be spared the whining.

The forced march _du jour_ was extremely boring and uneventful. Even Luke grew tired of the monsters they encountered on the plains, the fights becoming as automatic and redundant as walking. Luke was especially disheartened to find out that Van had headed out before them to get to the Naval Port as soon as he could. He'd been excited to travel with him for the first time he could remember, but a simple interrogation of the guards on duty near the gate to the town confirmed Van's departure. Despite this, Luke's level of complaining was estimated by the others to be just below the rank of its normal obnoxiousness.

They arrived in Kaitzur Naval Port sometime around late noon. When they entered the city, the first thing that caught their attention was the intimidating tower of inky smoke that rose from the docks. Plumes of brilliant fire licked across the only boat that happened to be docked, virtually clawing at the hull. Luke dashed to the site, followed by the other three, and he immediately spotted Van.

"Master! What happened--"

"Arietta!" Van had his sword point trained on the pink haired girl. "Who told you to do this?!"

"I-I... Commandant," she stammered. "I had to... Asch asked me to..."

"Asch?!" Van flicked his broad sword back into its sheathe. "What the hell was he thinking? And why did you--"

"That one knows what to do." Arietta abruptly jabbed a finger in Luke's direction, and the commandant turned to them. The beast tamer summoned a hawk-like monster, and it plucked her from the dock and took off to the eastern skies. Van held her in his vision as he spoke to Luke.

"What is she talking about?"

"I have no idea!" Luke folded his arms. "How should I know what that little freak wants?!"

"Are you certain, Luke?" Jade questioned him.

Luke suddenly remembered the message he'd received from Guy. His face became grave with denial, soon giving way to a twisted frown. "Guy! I can't believe you'd actually!..." He snatched the paper from the pocket of his coat, crumpling it in the process:

_Meet me at Choral Castle. Don't tell anyone, especially Jade. --Guy_

Jade adjusted his glasses, grinning at the noble's discovery. "Yes, that did seem rather suspicious, did it not?"

"You stupid!--You knew about it, didn't you!?"

"What do you mean?" Tear let her attention drift to something other than her brother for the first time since their arrival. "Why did Guy leave so suddenly?"

Jade gave Van a suspicious glare, and the commandant rushed to defend himself.

"I don't know anything about it either—I had no idea he'd left the manor in the first place."

"Is that _so_..." mused Jade, pretending to consider the plausibility of his story. "Well, in that case, we have no choice but to investigate the matter further."

"Colonel...are you sure?" Tear transferred her frown to the other soldier. "It could be a trap."

"By the way," Anise butted in. "Where's Ion?"

"Rumor has it the God-Generals were taking him elsewhere—I'm not sure where, exactly, because they wouldn't give me a straightforward answer."

"Hmm..." Jade hummed. It was clear he had an idea as to where the Fon Master could be, but he said nothing more about him.

"I want to see Guy!" Luke piped up, throwing his hands forward to Van.

"You may go, Luke. But I have to stay here to meet the training ship that's due here shortly."

"But Master!--"

"Luke!" Tear grabbed the boy's arm and pulled him back from her brother. "We don't have time for this!"

"But!"

"Don't worry, Tear." Van pronounced the Seventh Fonist's name carefully in his liquid voice. "It will be a while yet until the ship is back—you have time to go there and get back. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must meet with Count Almandine to discuss our next plan..." The Oracle Knight stepped over to the nearby meeting hall and knocked politely before being admitted.

"Well, now..." Jade's voice was cheerful, but his expression belied the fact that he was concerned about something. "Shall we get going? The more detours, the better."

"Shut up!" Luke turned his head at the Malkuthian colonel snottily.

"Oh no! What are we gonna do about Ion?" Anise groaned.

The colonel's grim response set everyone on edge. "He'll turn up eventually..."

* * *

Guy sighed and gazed over the roof of Choral Castle. The sun spilled over the calm waters, creating a dazzling sparkle over the water. The day was nice enough, if a tad bit warm, but the sea breeze kept him cool. 

His mind was still clouded by his conscience. He felt guilty for leaving Luke, but every time he spoke with Ion, he knew he was doing the right thing. After all, the Fon Master had given no reason to be branded untrustworthy. Ion was as innocent as Mieu when it came down to it.

"Why are you out here?"

Speak of the devil. Guy turned to greet the young ruler. And he'd be damned if he ever thought poorly of the kid—he was just too darn cute to be evil, simple as that.

"Just relaxing. What have you been up to?" Ion trotted over to where Guy was standing and peered over the low wall.

"Thinking," Ion whispered.

"Hm? What's up?"

"You...You aren't comfortable with joining the Order, are you?"

Guy frowned at the ocean's blackened depths that bellied out from the pillars of rock far below. "Don't worry...I'm with you."

"You're still worried about Luke, aren't you?" Ion kept his eyes on the horizon. "You'll see how well he can manage on his own when they come."

"I hope so." The soft wind picked up briefly, tossing the blond's unruly hair to the side. Ion shook his head regretfully. Even if no one deserved to die as young as Luke would, that boy was only alive for the purpose of dying anyway. And here was Guy doting on the lad like an old widow. He'd have to detach them if Guy were to stay fully on their side.

"You need to challenge him, you know."

"I know!..." Guy spun, pushing himself from the railing and to the center of the roof. "I'll fight him."

"Excellent." Ion's wicked grin was invisible to all but the placid sea. "As for _this_..." The Fon Master kicked a small form huddled at his feet. It gave as much of a shriek it could muster through the gag that was bound across its mouth.

"Hey!..."

"What's wrong, Guy?" Ion faced the man. "Do something about it." He pushed the object across the rough stone with his foot.

"You don't have to hurt him!" Guy bent to pick up the creature, tearing the rag from its mouth. "Mieu, are you all right?"

"Show your subordinates no mercy. Otherwise you'll come across as _weak_." Ion swept the cheagle up by its ears and held it to his face. "I learned that the hard way."

The monster gave a timid squeak.

"But this thing will be of value once it's trained properly," he scoffed, hurling the helpless beast into the stone wall. "And this will as well..." Ion twirled the Sorcerer's Ring around his finger. "If you can turn your blade on Luke, I will trust you to join us as an Oracle Knight." The Fon Master's foot was resting lightly on the cheagle, preventing Guy from rescuing it.

"I'll do as you wish, Fon Master."

* * *

Luke burst from the stairwell ahead of the others. He blinked in surprise when the dank walls around his opened to pure sky, then immediately forgot, falling back in shock. 

"Guy?!"

The servant narrowed his eyes, drawing back his heavy sheathe. The blow he dealt to the clueless noble knocked him out instantly, and Guy caught him as he fell forward.

"Hey!" Tear emerged next, closely followed by the other two. A blur of gold flashed in front of her, and she stumbled. Luke was gone, but Guy was standing before her. What the hell?...

"Ion!" Anise made a dash for the Fon Master. Guy swiftly extended his sword, resting it on her forehead, and she ground to a halt.

He shook his head at the three, who were echoing his name again. Still silent, he leaped gracefully from the roof and descended via the jagged pattern of rocks that surrounded the castle. At the same time, a muscular liger bounded from the stairwell and cornered the group.

"Give back Ion!" Arietta the Wild panted beside the monster, and eagle also following her.

"No way, Gloomietta!" Anise clenched the Fon Master's arm irately.

"Please don't..." Ion begged meekly.

"Stop it, Anise!" the pink-haired girl shot back.

Ion put on his best terrified expression, cowering behind Anise with a slight whine. If he was overdoing it, that didn't matter now.

"We have to find Luke," Jade commanded sharply.

"Why would they want him?..." Tear brandished her weapons uneasily, as if unsure whether to attack.

Jade gave her no reply which, if she knew the colonel, meant he probably had the answer.

* * *

Luke jolted awake. There was something there... It was creeping through his body and every fon slot that comprised his being, pulsing softly. And why couldn't he see anything? All that heavy blackness, that heavy _void_, pressed on him from all angles, getting stronger and stronger until-- 

He opened his eyes. The blaring light before him made him wince. Green glyphs, patterns, spinning circles, rolling lines, and a text which he could not comprehend flashed past his line of sight and burned themselves into his eyelids.

And then the voices came! Like groaned, the gurgle in his throat amplified to an earsplitting level. The voices echoed in his clouded head, and they made no sense at all—it was all just more noise, more pain!...

A noise dulled, and he hadn't even noticed it until it died. The grating on his ears was nullified just enough for him to understand the voices.

"Synchronized fon slots?..."

Had it not been for the chains of binding arrays encircled around him, Luke would have sat bolt upright at Guy's tone.

"Yes. It will come in useful whenever Asch needs to..." Sync abandoned his statement mid-sentence, changing it abruptly. "Oh, this idiot's finally waking up."

"What the hell did you do to me?!" Luke gritted, struggling against the cage of light and metal.

"I see no reason to answer that question," Sync taunted.

"Marvelous! I can't _wait_ to analyze this data!" another voice came, but Luke was unable to place this one to anyone he knew. At least whatever that damn machine was had finally shut off.

A clatter of footsteps came from above.

"Dist!" Jade charged forward, drawing his spear. "What are you doing here?!"

"We have to get out of here," Guy told them anxiously. "Van's coming soon."

"What?!" Sync snatched the fon disc from Dist. "Hold them off or something, Dist. I need to get Arietta out of this."

"Give back Ion!" The girl in question appeared behind Jade's group, riding on her liger friend.

"Give it up, Gloomietta," Anise growled, pointing at her with her mace.

"Grr! You won't get away with this you little--" Dist fumed at Sync, unhappy with his role as a scapegoat.

"Stop complaining! Arietta, come on!" Sync motioned for the girl to follow, and she and her monsters made haste.

"Wait!" Tear tossed a knife, but it fell just short of the Tempest as he slipped around the corner. It happened to strike Guy, who was just behind him, and the blond flinched, but kept running.

"Wait, Sync!" Dist floated to where the God-General had disappeared. "You can't just leave me here knowing Van is on his way!"

"They got away..." Anise stated the obvious as Dist's chair receded behind the stone wall.

"No matter." Jade brightened up. "Ion is safely with us, now, so there's nothing to worry about."

"First Aid!" Tear chanted, healing the redhead, who was still collapsed over the fontech apparatus. Luke gasped for breath, sitting up slowly.

"Guy?" he coughed, the pressure's lingering force still present. His chest felt as though it had collapsed and been stretched back too far, and now it was just sore as hell. "What did he?..."

"It seemed," Jade stated calmly, pushing his glasses up. "He was under the influence of a Curse Slot—the way he refused to speak was a key factor."

"I see," Ion said thoughtfully, folding his arms.

"Fon Master?" a booming voice sounded from the other corridor. "What are you doing here?"

"Master Van!" Luke choked in air raggedly. Van had to know something about all this; he was their commandant, after all.

"Luke! It's getting late! Why are you still out here?"

"I could ask the same of you." Jade shrugged lightly.

"Yes...Why did you come, Van?" Tear demanded, her lip curled in a hostile sneer.

"Tear, calm down. I was only coming to see if you were okay. It's not that long of a walk back to Kaitzur Naval Port. Shall we head back?"

"Yeah, I'm sick of this place!" Luke dusted his coat off moodily.

Jade agreed, Tear nodded, and Anise was willing to follow Luke anywhere. The four chatted a bit as they set out. It was only just past noon, so they had plenty of time to get back to the port before nightfall. Jade allowed them to slow their pace to allow Ion to walk comfortably and not tire himself.

But not even the Necromancer noticed the wicked smile that passed from Fon Master to commandant.


	9. A Tense Journey

**Disclaimer:** Well, let's see. This happens to be on and also a story about Tales of the Abyss. _ Fan_. Okay, point is, I don't own rights to the game, the characters, anything—as much as I wish I did. So, if anyone honestly thinks I own the game, I give the rest of the world permission to throw large, blunt objects at said offender. Because that's seriously offensive to the REAL creators of the game—comparing them to me, that is. ;) You get the point.

Thanks to all who gave me ideas for this fic. And, of course, to all who review. Much appreciated! Seriously, if I never got reviews, I would have no reason to continue writing. Keep 'em coming, and I will be a very happy fangirl

**A/N:** Okay... Sorry it took so long to update. I'll do my best to get it together from now on and do the edits myself so everything can run more smoothly. Also, apologies for the short chapter, but the next two more than make up for it, as they are both longer than usual. I actually had this written before NaNo, so the cliffhanger was meant to be there for a whole month, but you know, stuff prevented me from being able to post it.

I'll shut up now.

* * *

The ferry they boarded went by the name of Katsberg. It was a grand vehicle, the two paddle-like wings jutting out festooned with propellers. The deck was as ergonomic as the rest of the ship, but still open enough to be comfortable. 

The ferry set out from Kaitzur Naval Port early in the morning. Luke whined about the hour at which they woke, but soon caught up with it tenfold on the lazy trip. Tear and Anise relaxed as well, and it seemed the colonel was the only one who was uneasy with a day of resting. He had been worried since they'd discovered the machine in Choral Castle. And then there was Guy. Now Guy was with the Oracle Knights? Jade had pondered the thought to great length. It was unlikely it was caused by a Curse Slot—he seemed to be doing it of his own free will. At least telling Luke it was a Curse Slot would ease the boy's mind.

On top of that, there was his own fon slot seal. The damn thing had to be one of the hardest puzzles he'd ever worked. He'd been solving it little by little ever since that day on the Tartarus, but it was immense. And for some reason, it seemed to be growing stronger, more suffocating, with every code he broke. No good would come of leaving it be, anyway, so he just kept at it.

The Malkuthian colonel picked at the complex lock as he went about getting ready that morning. They were to dock in Chesedonia and change ships, so it would make for a long, uneventful day, which meant more time for him to concentrate.

Fifth Fonons there. Surround them in Third—no, Fourth Fonons. A sliver of Sixth in the other corner. A glyph drawn in First, and the first level of the code shattered, another coming forth immediately. Fifth, Second, and Third Fonons all together at the same time, converging at a point encircled with even more Fifth Fonons. A pattern of Fourth there, and the next level broke.

Each level was not necessarily difficult to figure out—it was just time-consuming, and each little piece had hundreds of subcodes to solve. A thousand more, and his right hand might be just under a quarter of the way free. But maybe one more round before heading up to breakfast...

Sixth to start this time. A disc of Third through it, three bars of Fifth vertically. But of course this had to be one of the more difficult codes that involved more than two axes. Stripe of Fourth, block of Fifth, and... Seventh Fonons. It demanded Seventh Fonons. Jade gave it up with a sigh, picking himself from the chair in his cabin. It would change later, but he didn't want to wait for that now. He straightened out his jacket (though it was unnecessary) and headed out the door. As soon as he stepped out, he saw Anise and Tear waiting for him, worried expressions on their faces.

"Colonel, do you know anything about what they did to Luke yesterday?" Anise got right to the point. She must have been serious to skip the petty greetings of which she was so fond.

"Maybe," Jade teased.

"Colonel, this is serious!" Tear leaned forward, placing her hands on her hips. "You should hear him now!"

"Well, what's troubling the young master?" Jade inquired calmly.

"Just come on and see for yourself," Anise groaned flatly, pulling the other soldier's sleeve. She led him to Luke's room, which wasn't very far from his own, as Van had been kind enough to not only buy them ferry tickets, but to arrange for all their rooms to be near each other.

Tear didn't knock when they approached the door. She motioned for them to listen, but Jade didn't notice anything amiss.

"Well?" He raised an eyebrow expectantly.

Tear grew impatient. "Just a moment ago, he was talking to himself—saying very strange things about someone being in his head. Do you know what that could--"

Luke flung the door open, knocking Anise aside. He glared at the others, rubbing his head furiously.

"Hey, what are you doing out here?!"

"Luke, we were only--" Tear was cut off by the irate redhead.

"What were you doing? Huh? Jade, what were you doing to me?!"

"Master Luke," Jade gasped in mock amazement. "I do beg your pardon. The ladies dragged me here to hear whatever it was you were saying in your sleep."

"And what would that be?" Luke folded his arms.

"Only how much you loved Tear—it was quite amusing, really."

Tear and Luke simultaneously roared the colonel's name, blushing vividly. Anise giggled maniacally.

"I-I'm out of here!" Luke stormed past them, tromping his way to the deck, muttering about finding Van and having breakfast.

"Oh my, it does seem I've made him mad..." Jade shook his head worriedly.

"Colonel..." Tear started. She stopped, feeling powerless before the Malkuthian. Sighing, she turned and retreated to the galley as well.

"Really, Colonel..." Anise chided, wiping the tears from her eyes. "What if something really was wrong with him?"

"I doubt it. Lots of people talk in their sleep."

"Oh." Anise let her shoulders droop. "I'm going to find them. Poor Luke—I need to cheer him up!"

"Yes." Jade fixed his glasses absently. "You should do that..."

* * *

Instead of Van, Luke found Ion on his way to the ferry's small on-board restaurant. The boy greeted him pleasantly, oblivious to the other's anger. 

"Good morning, Luke. Did you sleep well?"

"Hmph. I was fine until Jade had to go and wake me up like that."

"You mustn't be upset with the colonel. He's only kidding, you know."

"He could at least make it a little more obvious!" Luke huffed, glaring at the ocean waters, which, to his disappointment, refused to mirror his fury.

"But Jade is really a nice man—you just need to get to know him a little better."

"I doubt anyone as cold-hearted as him could ever..." Luke continued to focus on the water, losing himself as he realized how he was rambling. The sea had grown slightly choppier—the dense grey waves folding upon themselves endlessly. The hypnotic sight distracted the boy until Ion brought him back to reality.

"Luke? What was that?"

"Oh!" Luke wondered why Ion had such a way of making him feel peaceful just being around him. He shook his head absently. "It was nothing. You want to get something to eat?"

"No, I'm just coming back from breakfast. I was just heading to meet with you guys." Ion smiled to him through his innocent-little-kid face. "But I'll go back if you have no one to eat with..."

"I-I'll just go find Master Van," Luke stammered, brushing past the boy. How the kid always managed to make him blush, he could never quite understand.

"That's fine, then..."

* * *

The trip through Chesedonia was more than rushed. Jade hurried them through as fast as Luke's curiosity could be hindered by his snappy comments. Luke wanted to explore the new city, but even he had to agree that they needed to catch up to the God-Generals soon. Eventually he gave in under the opposition of Jade's logic: They needed to hurry to catch the next boat, sand was getting in places he'd rather not have it, the shops were overpriced, and there was not much else of interest in the town, anyway. On top of all that, three words from Van had Luke on his master's heels like a needle to a magnet, so his whining was staunched thereafter. 

In fact, Luke soon found the other benefit to hurrying to Baticul in the next ship ride. He was allowed to sleep through the night, but the peculiar headaches he'd been having woke him an hour in advance regardless. Still convinced it was Jade's doing, he'd flung the door open, but no one was there, contrary to what he'd expected. Grumbling about something or another, he'd slumped back in bed, embarrassed.

An hour or so later, he was woken by the headaches again.

The pain was almost scalding as he fought to ignore it. Sighing and fussing irately, he decided it had been long enough and reluctantly trudged outside. The salty breeze was refreshing, and Luke wandered over to the railing of the deck to wake himself up properly. The waves had grown in intensity since yesterday, and he could only wonder if the sky was about to unleash its load on them all at once. The atmosphere was coated in an alabaster-white mist, full cloud cover hanging low over the slate-colored ocean as it trailed aft of the ship. The waves' white crests broke in heavy bars of liquid restlessness, and all traces of its normal cheer were gone.

Luke stared down into the water. His shadow was nothing more than a blurred opaque splotch on the turning foam that spiked up at the stern of the boat. Turning to the lavishly adorned ornaments that ran around the rails of the ferry, he noticed his reflection looking back from one of the great steel beams that led straight to the head of the boat. He suddenly felt dizzy looking at himself there, and thought for a fleeting moment—was that really him? Of course it was. Stupid.

The headache came back, slamming into him like a club. His knees buckled, and he fell, but then he heard the voice—that eerie, echoing voice that planted burs of pain in his mind with each syllable.

_"I have reached you! Show me your power—the same power as mine!"_

"What the?!--" Luke staggered to his feet and felt his arms forced out in front of him, almost touching his reflection on the beam. He shut his eyes tight and turned away, terrified. "Who the hell are you?! Why are you controlling me?!"

"Luke?" Ion plodded around the corner. "Who are you talking—Oh, Luke! No!" The young Fon Master ran to Luke's side and grabbed his arms.

Luke tried to say something, but gave only a hot, rasp breath.

"Hold on! Just relax, Luke. I'm here. I'll help you...See?...It's nothing, Luke..." Ion kept repeating encouraging phrases to him until the noble's arms finally slacked, and he stumbled against him.

"What...the hell?..."

"Luke... just catch your breath, I'll explain everything."

"No! Tell me what the hell was going on!" Luke coughed raggedly, clutching his stomach even though the pain was in his head.

"I'm sorry! I'm a terrible Seventh Fonist if I can't--"

"I said, don't worry about me!"

Ion took a step back from him. "I-I'm sorry, Luke..."

Luke staggered up and reached to steady himself on the beam. As soon as he found it, he jerked his hand away as if it had been singed and gazed back at the metal. There was a perfect hole through it right at eye level—not burned, cut, nor punched by force.

"Luke..." Ion gently placed his hand on Luke's shoulder. "It's okay. Don't--"

"Just tell me what the hell happened!"

"It was a hyperresonance," Ion said, a hint of coldness in his normally placid voice.

"Didn't Guy mention that in the valley?..." Luke pondered, not taking his eyes from the ring.

"Valley?" Ion blinked. "Anyway...Incomplete hyperresonance does have the power to transport matter, but this power is complete hyperresonance—the power to destroy matter itself."

"...What?"

Ion sighed. He must be patient, now especially. This was possibly one of the most important roles of his mission, and he must not ruin it. "You, Luke, are the only person in the world capable of causing a hyperresonance on his own. Normally, it takes two Seventh Fonists, and it's extremely rare."

"But...I can do that on my own?"

"Yes, it would be valuable in war. The Duke and His Majesty both know this."

"Wait, what's that supposed to mean?!"

"You've been held captive in your own home for the sake of warfare, if the world comes to that. That's probably why Malkuth wanted to kidnap you, as well."

"No..." Luke turned, balling both hands into fists and beating the railing resolutely. "I won't be some weapon for them!..."

"Your engagement to Natalia was also most likely a ploy to keep you in the castle even after you come of age."

"So she was in on this, too..."

"It's unreasonable." Ion nodded agreeably. "But I think I have a way out of it for you."

"W-What is it?!"

"If you can somehow aid the country and then spread word of it, you may be allowed to leave as a hero. Say perhaps you played a big part in the formation of the peace treaty..."

"Oh, I get it! I have to become a hero!" Luke brightened. "So, how do I do that, anyway?"

"First of all..." Ion took a deep, but quick, breath of the sea-laden air. "You'll have to trust me."


	10. The Royal City of Light, Baticul

**Disclaimer:** I don't own rights to the game, the characters, anything—as much as I wish I did.

Thanks to all who gave me ideas for this fic. And, of course, to all who review.

**A/N:** Here's chapter 10. Nothing of any significance to say for this one.

I'll shut up now.

* * *

The ferry heaved itself into the Batican harbor at midday. Luke gazed over the rail at his home fondly. Even under the heavy clouds that had lingered since departing from Choral Castle, the city glistened extravagantly. There seemed to be light pouring from the very structure of Baticul, and it thrilled Luke that he could have the honor of living in such a beautiful city. However, his deep concentration was shattered by the others, who gently reminded him that it was time to depart. 

As the group left the ferry, two soldiers approached them, both bearing the insignia of generals of the Kimlascan army. "Master Luke! Welcome back."

Luke grinned. After all they'd been through, it was a relief to finally be home, even if he didn't recognize the place anyway.

"And my greetings to the rest of you, as well. I am General Goldberg." The larger of the two soldiers nodded to Jade, Tear, Anise, and Ion.

"Brigadier General Cecille, at your service." The other saluted swiftly. The members of Luke's group introduced themselves as well.

"Fon Master Ion of the Order of Lorelei."

"Colonel Jade Curtiss, Commander of the Third Division, Malkuth Imperial Army. I represent His Majesty, Peony the IX, Emperor of Malkuth."

"Ionian Sergeant Anise Tatlin, Oracle Knights, Fon Master Guard."

"Locrian Sergeant Tear Grants, First Platoon, Oracle Knights Intelligence Division."

Goldberg saluted them smartly. "Glad to meet you. General Cecille will escort you to the Fabre manor. If you would, General?"

"Wait!" Luke stopped them. "I'll take them back to the manor. We want to look around the city a bit before reporting to Uncle."

"Thank you, Luke," Ion said softly. "We won't take long, I promise. I'm sure you're eager to get back home."

"No, Ion. It's fine."

Ion smiled at him, and Luke couldn't help but blush. He jerked back to look at General Goldberg, but then realized that he might notice his flushed features, instead staring toward the ground. And there went Ion again, making people blush at the worst possible time. Thankfully, Goldberg either hadn't noticed or had opted not to comment.

"As you were, General Cecille," said the Kimlascan general. "I shall honor that request, but I will send word of your arrival to the castle."

"That's fine."

"Thank you, Luke!" Ion beamed.

"It's nothing."

Goldberg dismissed Cecille, and then he took his leave, as well.

"Where should we go first?" Ion asked Luke.

"I don't know. I've never been outside the manor, so I really don't know any more about the city than you do."

"Oh, my poor Luke!" Anise wailed.

"There's the Coliseum, but I doubt it would be open with the way things are now. After all, I'd hardly expect the ruler of a country to allow visitors in with the intent to _fight, _especially from Malkuth." Jade added.

Tear cut in abruptly. "I disprove of fighting for sport. We're not going there."

"What? Fighting?" Luke looked half-interestedly at Jade.

"It's a lot of fun to watch," Ion informed him. "People come from all over the world to compete. They're highly trained, and some even take on huge monsters rather than human opponents."

Luke grinned childishly. "That sounds like fun!"

"It's far too expensive," Tear said quickly, momentarily forgetting Luke's lineage.

"I can just have Father pay for it."

"Luke, you'd never make it. You've never even fought a human before."

"H-Hey! I could do it!"

"Somehow I doubt that." Tear gave him a smug glance before continuing. "We'll pass this time."

"We can look around and just check out anything of interest. How's that sound, Luke?" Anise smiled. She wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him lovingly.

"Oh, get off..."

"Oh my, aren't you popular?" All five turned at the sound of the voice that came from the port's aircar. A woman in a skimpy red outfit leaned against a beam casually. She approached Luke and grabbed his shoulders provocatively. "I guess it's to be expected of such a handsome man."

"Oh, my..." Ion whispered to himself.

"Hey, what do you--"

"Give back what you stole," Tear interjected harshly.

"What?" Luke checked his pockets hastily. "Hey! You took my wallet!"

"Ugh, you're just jealous, aren't you, my pretty?" The woman winked to Tear.

Tear blushed avidly. "N-No I'm not. Just give it back, or I'll have to take it back."

"Protective, are we? York! Catch!" She flipped the wallet to a man that was standing behind the group. He caught it deftly and ran as fast as his pirate costume would allow. "Urushi, we're out of here!"

A short man with an orange beard signaled to York from an alley near the residential quarters. Both he and the woman made for the alley, but Tear stopped the former with a toss of her knife. It stunned the man, sending him down, and she had a blade to his neck instantly.

"Return what you stole. Now."

York hesitantly held up the wallet, and Tear snatched it. As soon as she withdrew her blade, York was up and running to his partners.

"You've got guts making enemies of the Dark Wings!" Urushi called from where he'd climbed a fire escape. "You ain't seen the last of us!" With that, the trio disappeared.

"They're the Dark Wings!?" Luke shook his fists after them. "Those bastards! I'd have killed them if I'd known that!"

"Indeed. It seems Master Luke is an expert at dealing with thieves," Jade said pleasantly.

"Like you could have done any better!" Luke shot back.

"Oh dear, I suppose I should have said something. It just looked like it would be so amusing, though..."

"What the?! You jerk!"

"Cut it out, you two." Tear walked up from where she'd stopped York. "Let's just head to the castle if you're done looking around."

"No, we didn't get a chance to see anything!" Anise pouted. "Let's keep looking!"

"Fine, then."

They spent the next hour or so exploring the city. Luke remained silent the whole time in his anger towards Jade. The colonel had little interest in the city, claiming that he'd just as soon get it over with, but he never objected to Anise and Ion's desire to poke through shops and other attractions. After a good deal of just generally killing time (an activity that pleased the others after the pace at which Jade had forced them to make it back soon), they made their way to the upper levels where the nobles lived.

Anise gasped in awe at the stunning sight of the various manors up close. From the port, there was, admittedly, little to see of the mansions. Luke led them straight to the castle.

At the door, Luke identified himself, and their entry was permitted immediately. The castle was a grand sight to behold. The antique staircases that crossed above made the high ceiling seem that much more impressive, and the sentries that marched the halls were in perfect form. Luke and Ion led them up the stairs to the meeting hall.

"Wait." The guard stopped them. "His Majesty, King Ingobert, is currently seeing a guest. We have received word to let you through as soon as the meeting is over, however."

Luke grumbled sullenly, glancing back at his companions. "We don't have time to wait. Just who's in there that's more important than me?!"

"Beg pardon, Master Luke." The guard shifted uncomfortably. "But it is an important guest from the Order of Lorelei that has--"

"It could be Grand Maestro Mohs," Jade observed.

"Who's that?" Luke asked, turning to the colonel. "Is that who Van mentioned in Kaitzur?"

"Yes. He's my direct subordinate," Ion explained. "It's been rumored that he's trying to start a war, like Van told you. He's also been searching for the Seventh Fonstone, but he has yet to find it."

Tear nodded to the young noble, who still looked confused. "The Seventh Fonstone is the last part of the Score Yulia read over 2000 years ago--"

"I know, I know!"

"But Luke, you looked like you had forgotten all ready." Jade shrugged. "I suppose little can be said for one with such extraordinary memory as you."

Luke shot the colonel a wry glance. "Shut up."

"It looks like Tear knows a lot about the Seventh Fonstone," Ion said cheerily. "Maybe she can explain more about it later if you're still confused, Luke."

"Let's just get on with this!" He snorted, beginning to force the heavy brass-ornamented doors open.

"Wait, sir!" The guard held out a cautionary hand to the group. "His Majesty, King Ingobert is seeing--"

Luke let his hands fall from the door and promptly put them to his hips arrogantly. "So what? I'm Luke fon Fabre, son of Duke Fabre. If you don't let me through, I'll see to it that you're fired!"

The soldier shrugged nervously. Luke grunted again, then turned back to the door. The large doors banged open, and the first thing Luke noticed the entire party that had been deep in its meeting turn to assess the source of the disturbance. He picked out his uncle on the center throne immediately, as well as his advisor, Alpine, standing next to him stuffily. A woman stood before the two of them, garbed entirely in a dark Order of Lorelei uniform. Luke ran to the king, who was all ready gasping out the name of his nephew.

"Luke?! What is the meaning of--"

"Uncle! I have returned!"

The dark-haired woman faced the boy accusingly. "What are commoners doing here interrupting our meeting? Have them arrested at once, Your Majesty!"

"Admiral, please calm down," Ingobert told her. "I will take care of everything. First, Luke, explain why you are here and who these people are that you have brought."

The woman glared at Luke, and it took him until then to realize that she had only one eye. He shook his head, then pointed to each of his companions as he introduced them. "This is Fon Master Ion, from Daath, and Jade from the Malkuth military! We're here to deliver a letter to you from the Emperor of Malkuth. Don't believe Mohs! She's only--"

The woman laughed abruptly, cutting Luke off. "You think I am Mohs? Honestly. Could one such as myself be mistaken for that puffed-up old fool? You must be kidding me, boy."

Luke glared at her nastily. "How am I supposed to know--"

"He is quite the brilliant one," she told Ingobert. "Is this the lad that lost his memory?"

"Yes," the king replied with a sigh.

"Just who are you, then?! You're here to start a war, aren't you?!"

She continued to grin amusedly. "Not only a genius, but also very kind and well-mannered enough to keep out of others' business, are we? Very well. I am Vice Admiral Cantabile, Commander of the Sixth Platoon, Oracle Knights Navy."

"L-Listen, you--!"

"Cease!" Alpine cut in, holding up a tiny hand between them. Cantabile smirked in Luke's direction again, causing the noble to grit his teeth in anger. She returned her gaze to the king, awaiting his next word.

"Admiral, I will keep what you have said in mind. Now, I hear you bear a letter from Peony the IX, Colonel Curtiss?"

"Yes, sir." Jade revealed the letter and handed it to a nearby guard, who then gave it to Ingobert.

"Thank you, Colonel. May I ask that you stay for the night so that I may have the time to look over the letter and come to a definite decision? I will have rooms prepared for the four of you at once. Luke, it would be in your best interest to return home right away and let your mother hear of your safe arrival. She has fallen ill."

"Mother's sick?" Luke started, incredulous. "Since when?"

"It began soon after you left," he explained. "It was likely brought upon by your disappearance, so your showing her that you have returned would probably bring her back around by tonight."

"Yes, sir. I'll go back right away."

"Your Majesty, if you don't mind, I'd like to see Luke's manor before we settle in for the night," Ion requested politely.

"I have no problem with that. You are welcome to come and go as you please until nightfall, but by then, it would be for the best if you were back here."

"I understand. Thank you, Your Majesty."

The party bowed to Ingobert, then turned to take its leave, but Cantabile laid a hand on Tear's shoulder as she passed. The younger Oracle Knight halted suddenly, looking into Cantabile's eye closely.

"So you're Mystearica. Van told me all about you."

"You're with my brother?"

"And it's true that you're his sister..." She grinned, nodding to Jade, who had glanced back upon noticing the Tear's absence. He shrugged in response, then continued out the door of the audience hall.

"What do you want?" Tear said sharply.

"Grand Maestro Mohs was here yesterday, and he has all ready left on a ship back to Daath. You may make your mission report to me in the morning."

"You avoided my question. Are you siding with my brother?"

"I shall see you again soon, Mystearica." Cantabile let a sly smile cross her thin lips, then motioned to the Oracle Knight to leave. Tear stared into her cold eye for another second or so, then turned to leave.

* * *

Upon seeing the extent of Luke's vast manor, Anise nearly lost her mind. She darted from hall to hall excitedly, poring over every last detail of the exquisitely carved ornamentations from one end of the manor to the other. At the sight of every burnished doorknob sculpted into elegant shapes, every gaudy tapestry that hung from ceiling to floor and was wider than she was tall, every antique vase of rare white roses adorned with crimson ribbons on their stems, and every lavishly sewn drapery across every crown molded window made her squeal with greedy delight as she scrambled to imagine the worth of each fine item. Luke simply rolled his eyes at her behavior, shrugging and mumbling that it was nothing special. Even Jade and Tear seemed impressed greatly, but they kept a more mature posture than the Fon Master Guardian. Ion was enjoying himself as well, though his being dragged behind Anise forced him to each of the sights his voracious friend wished to see up close. 

"What's in here?" Anise panted, having come upon the drawing room. The first time she had come to it, it had been locked, leaving her to dote on the tidy yet secure latches instead of examining the room to her heart's content.

"Nothing much. It's just the drawing room. It's where guests hang out, really," Luke said offhandedly.

"Then why don't we 'hang out' with the young master?" Jade suggested affably. Luke shot him a scowl, but the colonel was unmoved.

"I wish to apologize to the lady of the house for all that's happened," Tear told the redhead. "After all, it's my fault she's fallen ill. It's the least I can do."

"That should be fine."

Anise flung the doors open and stepped inside, eyes immediately flying to all corners of the room. The last thing she saw, and perhaps never would have seen had the rest not stopped, was Princess Natalia.

"Ugh, Natalia!" Luke grumbled. "What are you doing here?"

"That's some way to treat a friend, Luke!" she huffed importantly. "Anyway, I see you have returned safely. Congratulations."

"Whatever, just what the hell are you doing in my house?"

"I happen to be comforting your mother in Father's absence."

"Oh, whatever." Luke shook his head dismissively.

"Hmph. I suppose the only thing the would hold your attention that long is Dorian General Grants. I am sadly mistaken to assume that you would care for your own mother."

"Hey! I don't neglect her! What does Master Van have to do with anything?!"

Natalia grinned triumphantly. "I knew that would catch your interest. Actually, Dorian General Grants was arrested shortly after you arrived."

"Wait, you mean after we came ashore?! Damn! He did say the he had something else to take care of just before we got off, and that must have set him back long enough so that we didn't see him. And why the hell was he arrested, anyway?!"

"There seems to be a rumor that he was conspiring with his sister, Mystearica, to kidnap you."

"What?" Tear interjected. "That's nonsense."

"Oh?" Natalia turned to the Oracle Knight. "Are you this 'Tear' he spoke of?"

"Yes. I can swear upon Yulia's Score that it was not an act of aggression towards House Fabre. I am at fault entirely. I recklessly attacked my brother without giving thought to anyone else. I had no idea Luke was a Seventh Fonist."

Luke threw his hands in the air agitatedly. "Look! Natalia, just tell Uncle to free Master Van! It's all a big misunderstanding!"

"Yeah, we can't let them imprison the commandant!" Anise added. "Could you do anything to help, Ion?"

"I could issue a protest from Daath. That should smooth things along if His Majesty is unwilling to let him go."

"Thanks, Ion." Luke nodded to the boy.

"You may want to hurry. Such an accusation would only be countered with execution," Jade informed the group.

"Yeah! Ion, let's go right away!" Anise grabbed the hapless boy's forearm and dragged him to the door abruptly.

"Come on, Natalia!" Luke's voice raised in volume. "You have to talk to Uncle. Go, now!"

"Only if you remember your promise to me, Luke!"

"What promise?" Anise stopped short, and Ion stumbled forward slightly.

"Look, Natalia, I don't--"

"But Luke! You know you proposed to me when we were little! How romantic would it be if that was the first thing to return after your memory loss?"

Tear and Anise started at the news. They gave him curious looks, but the noble failed to notice.  
Luke gritted his teeth stubbornly. "Just go talk to Uncle about Master Van."

"Fine. But promise me you'll remember soon!"

"Yeah, yeah."

Natalia huffed again, then reluctantly headed for the door. She allowed Anise and Ion through before her, then let herself in while closing the heavy wooden doors softly.

"Jeez... She's so obnoxious!" Luke declared.

"Well, that was quite the thrilling tour." Jade nodded to himself, changing the subject. "I'll be heading back to the castle now. I do thank you, Luke."

"Yeah, sure."

The Malkuthian colonel left punctually, still grinning. He had seemed in a decent enough mood, which gave Luke the strangest hint that he was probably up to something. His last remark hadn't even sounded sarcastic. Maybe the guy wasn't that bad, after all. But no, this was _Jade_. He was as sly as the devil.

After he departed, there was a moment of silence between Tear and Luke. Eventually, the former turned to the noble. "Would it be all right if you took me to the lady so that I may beg her forgiveness?"

"Y-You don't have to say it like that!" Luke blushed slightly, then turned away from her. "Yeah, her chamber is over this way."

Tear followed him down the hallway quietly. The White Knights that faithfully kept a close watch on the corridor gave her interested looks; apparently, they were inclined to think any new face around the house could be a potential threat. After what had happened last time she had come to the manor, Tear couldn't blame them. A few lighthearted greetings were given to Luke, to which the boy nodded in his acknowledgment. She shook her head. It was better than not even responding, possibly, but still indescribably rude in her eyes.

Luke tapped on the door when they reached the end of the hallway. A strained voice came from inside. "Yes? Who is it?"

Luke didn't wait for permission to enter. His mother's eyes lit up as she saw him enter, and a happy sigh escaped her lips. "Mother... I'm home."

"Luke!"

Tear hung back respectfully, allowing them a moment together. Luke sat next to her on her bed while she dragged him closer to her chest in a generous hug, tears coming to her eyes. "My poor Luke! I was afraid you'd been kidnapped again!"

Luke pulled away, wincing. "No, Mother. I'm home for good now."

"I'm so happy!"

Tear judged it to be a more suitable time to act. She approached the duchess nervously, then dropped to her knees, bowing to the woman far more than was necessary. The action startled Luke, as he had never expected to see such a stone-hearted soldier kneel before anyone. "Your Grace, I beg your forgiveness. I apologize deeply for what I have brought upon your son."

"My, but I thought this was the work of villains! No such person would apologize for her actions."

"By Lorelei and Yulia, I swear I had no intentions to harm your son." Tear's rigid voice was not muffled in the slightest by her position. "I was after my brother."

"So, you did try to strike down Van... Tear, I accept your apologies, but on one condition. Never again try to kill your own family. It's just all too sad for me to bear."

"I promise." Tear rose, then bowed again.

"Luke... Please, go tell everyone that you have returned. I'm sure they will be glad to hear the news."

"I will, Mother. But where is Father? I haven't seen him yet."

"Your father went off to the castle shortly before you arrived. I'm surprised you didn't run into him on the way."

Luke shrugged. "I'll meet up with him sooner or later. I'm exhausted, though. I need some rest."

"That's perfectly fine, dear!" Susanne smiled up at him. "I'll be sure to tell him of your arrival. You may get some sleep if you want. And Tear, I bid you a good night as well."

"Thank you, Your Grace."

"I'll be going then, Mother." Luke turned to leave, and Tear followed suit. Susanne sighed calmly after them, and she noticed that she herself was growing tired from the visit. My, but her weak body prevented her from doing much. No matter; Luke, her precious son, had returned, and now she was sure to recover quickly.

* * *

Luke woke the next morning with a squirm of excitement at not being where he had expected, in a hotel bed or worse yet, on the ground, but in his own small room in the familiar Fabre manor. After a few seconds of happy speculation, he frowned with a groan, realizing that now he was the prisoner again, and the rest of the world served as the prison guards that would prevent his any of his engaging in anything out of ordinary, or, in other words, entertaining. 

He hauled himself out of the bed, noting that the sun was fairly high. It was still later than Jade's normal hour, but not as comfortable as his own average late noon awakening. He sighed, stumbling over to the dresser and throwing on a shirt hastily before heading out the door without bothering to make his bed. He was up now, and if the noble had any distinguishing virtues in the way of waking, it was that once he was awake, he never went back to sleep until nightfall.

The activity of the manor was perfectly on schedule. There was a general hush about the courtyard, as the servants were still performing their chores for the day, and not even Pere, the gardener, was out; he was on his lunch break, which was later than most's, because he had to work outdoors all day and Duke Fabre never forced him in the blazing noon hours that would do him in quickly. The duke was thought of a strict man (jokingly referred to as 'a side effect from the old war days'), but he was fair. None of the maids that served his family and him could deny that he was as down-to-earth as his wife.

Luke poked his head around the corner into the drawing room. There was the normal detail of White Knights, but they were alert and stiff, the reason lying in the presence of a guest. Luke cocked his head in surprise, somewhat startled that Natalia was back.

"Good morning, Luke," she greeted him.

"Oh, hey, Natalia." Luke nodded to her briefly. "What are you doing here?"

"Father wishes to speak to you. He said he has quite a few issues to address."

"I disprove of your late waking," came Duke Fabre's low growl of a voice from behind the princess.

Luke jerked in shock. "Father! When did you get here?"

"I've been here longer than you've been awake, son! You need to act more like a member of House Fabre!"

"Jeez, I'm sorry; are you happy now? I won't do it again," lied Luke, positive that the exchange would go forgotten by the next day.

"I hope you mean that."

"I do, I do." Luke bristled, annoyed. "So, Natalia, Uncle needs to see me? What, is it about Master Van?"

"Partially. As I said, there are quite a few issues at hand that need discussion. We may talk on the way there, if you wish. Father has been waiting for you long enough. You're lucky your mother was kind enough to let you sleep in; otherwise, I may have just seen fit to take matters into my own hands."

"Whatever. I'll see you then, Father." Luke waved halfheartedly to the duke, who returned the gesture accompanied with a hard scowl.

Luke walked beside Natalia in silence. He was interested in whatever it was that Ingobert wanted to tell him, but he decided that it could wait until he got there; he would find out soon enough, and it wasn't worth asking the moody princess. She obviously knew, but she was often bitter toward him. He felt it was because of the memory loss. Frankly, Luke assumed his childhood memories to have been as bland as his current life, so he was not unduly worried. He was manging fine now, anyway. Though, he had to reluctantly admit that no matter what happened, he had to get by some way or another. Just like when--

"Guy!" Luke blurted the name of his servant so abruptly and so loudly that Natalia stopped instantly, giving him a puzzled look. Luke mentally beat himself in the head. How in the hell could he forget?! There was so much going on, and then he was so tired, there was nothing there to think in the knotted mass of everything and nothing in his mind that blurred into itself and made him momentarily draw a complete blank when it came to the whereabouts of his best friend.

"'Guy'? Luke, what's wrong?"

"Guy! He--"

"Come to think of it," Natalia mused. "He got caught in that...hyperresonance, was it? Yes, that's what Dorian General Grants called it. Where _is_ Guy?"

"He... Did he really join the Oracle Knights?..."

"My! What ever could have caused him to--"

"I don't know, but we have to figure out where he's going and what the hell he's thinking. Maybe Master Van knows something about it. He's in the Oracle Knights."

"Yes." Natalia hesitantly picked up their walk again. "That does indeed sound suspicious. Though, I can't imagine Guy making such a sudden and harsh decision as to leave you without good reason."

"I can take care of myself!" Luke countered.

"Yes, I'm sure, Luke, but for now, let's just hear what Father has to say. We can mention Guy to him afterwards."

"That's fine."

They paused as the two guards in front of the castle ran to open the doors for Natalia. They bowed, allowing her entry, and she gave them a swift curtsy. The two nobles entered the enormous room, heading straight for the audience hall. On the way, they noticed Tear and Admiral Cantabile off to the side of the main path.

"Hey, Tear." Luke raised a hand to get her attention. She turned, breaking off the whispered conversation she was having with the other Oracle Knight.

Luke and Natalia approached them, and the former just caught the end of Cantabile's "...tell you more later." as he went to greet her.

"Hello, Luke. You sure took your time," Tear scolded. "Were you sleeping that whole time? Honestly..."

Luke ignored her comment. "Hey, have you seen Master Van? Where did they take him?"

Tear sighed gustily. "He's still in prison. His Majesty has yet to officially relieve him, but he plans to do so soon. First, we have to have our meeting, then we will discuss other matters about my brother."

"Well, then, let's go see Uncle." Luke turned to the grand staircase that led to the throne room. Cantabile took the lead, giving him a hint of a smirk as she passed. Luke shrugged, then followed Tear and Natalia.

"Ah, Luke, there you are!" Ingobert sighed happily, leaning back in his throne.

"Yeah. What did you want to talk to me about?" Luke stood in place before the king. "And—hey, what are you doing here?"

Jade, Anise, and Ion looked over to him. They had apparently been there before the redhead, having not only been in the habit of waking at a decent time but also being right there in the castle lead them to have little to do other than wait.

"Waiting for you," Jade replied. "But it seems we can get on with the explanation. Your Majesty?..."

"Thank you, Colonel." Ingobert straightened, looking down at Luke as regally as he could. "Luke... You do know of the peace efforts that have been made, do you not?"

"Of course I do."

"Right. Colonel Curtiss has brought not only a letter containing an offer of peace from Malkuth, but a plea for help."

"Okay... what does that have to do with me?"

"It seems the mining town of Akzeriuth has been plagued with the miasma."

Luke looked confused for a moment until Ingobert nodded to his aide, Alpine, to explain further. "Miasma is the poison blight that seeps up from Gnome's domain. It's deadly poison."

"Oh, that stuff that was in the Fubras River, right?" Luke turned to Jade for confirmation. The colonel agreed, then Ingobert continued.

"Akzeriuth used to be part of our territory. It sits right on the border, and it is much sought after for its rich mines. Naturally, there is a road connecting it from the Kimlasca side, and Malkuth wishes us to aid their citizens, which cannot leave because of the thickness of the miasma that sits on their path. Our side is far too rocky and dangerous for commoners to travel, so they need all the help they can get to escort them out of there via the Kimlascan road."

Luke raised an eyebrow. "And this has to do with me...?"

"Yes. It would be best if you hear it yourself." Ingobert gestured to a nearby guard on his left, which was holding a fragment of a fonstone. "Fon Master, if you would read the Score inscribed there..."

"Allow me, sir," Tear offered. "Fon Maser Ion will only get ill if he attempts to read the Score."

"Very well."

Tear approached the fonstone, then rested her hand over it lightly. She inhaled, closing her eyes to concentrate and read the Seventh Fonon-based text carved into it. "'ND 2000. In Kimlasca shall be born the scion of Lorelei's power. He will be of royal blood with hair of red. He shall be called 'the light of the sacred flame', and he will lead Kimlasca-Lanvaldear to new prosperity. ND 2018. The young scion of Lorelei's power shall bring his people to the miner's city. There...' That's strange. The rest is missing."

"It's no matter. That is sufficient. Thank you, Tear."

"Yes, thank you. I'm sorry to be such a burden," Ion said sadly.

"It's nothing. It's not your fault, Fon Master."

"Luke." Ingobert looked his nephew in the eye sternly. "You are the chosen hero that must travel to Akzeriuth and save the people. You must go because it is written in the Score!"

"Oh...!" Luke gazed over to Ion fondly. The boy smiled back to him. "A hero..."

"If you agree to go, Dorian General Grants will be released and allowed to accompany you."

"I'll do it!"

Jade smirked. "You seem to be very cooperative when Commandant Grants is involved."

"Shut up!"

"Wait!" shouted Cantabile suddenly. She had been silent the entire time until the mention of Van's name. All eyes fell to the admiral as she lurched forward to the king. "Van's here?! When did he get here, and why did you arrest him?!"

"Please, address the commandant by his proper title, Admiral," Ingobert said edgily. "As for your other questions, he arrived on the ship with Luke and the others. He was arrested under suspicion that he was conspiring with Tear to kidnap Luke, but that is not the case."

Cantabile flinched, then a look crossed her features as though she'd just caught herself doing something she had sworn to never show. She glanced back over her shoulder and busied herself with fixing her eye patch while she murmured her apologies to the king. Ingobert nodded slowly, then turned back to Luke.

"Luke, there is another issue I wish to discuss. What ever happened to your servant, Guy Cecil, who went searching for you?"

"He..." Luke found himself unable to finish the sentence.

Jade's expression dimmed, and he glanced sideways at Luke. After a moment of deciding that the boy wasn't going to answer, he told the king what he had explained to the others as a viable excuse for Guy's actions. "It seems that he was placed under a Curse Slot. Curse Slots use their victims' memories to force them to another's will. They basically neutralize all rational thought, causing the target to unexpectedly attack. We—well, Anise, Ion, and I—met up with Guy, Luke, and Tear in the Cheagle Woods. The God-Generals attacked and took over the Tartarus, and we were taken aboard as prisoners. We managed to get out with the help of a mysterious ally, spent the day in St. Binah, then were promptly recaptured. Guy seemed shaken when we got away again, and then later he deserted us at Choral Castle. That's all that we have to go on."

"So, tell me..." Cantabile began, examining Jade closely. "Who was this 'mysterious ally' you mentioned?"

"My personal speculation is irrelevant." Jade adjusted the bridge of his glasses deftly, matching the admiral's searching glance perfectly. "There is a chance I'm wrong. I wish not to reveal my theory just yet."

"Ah! I understand," Cantabile agreed. "It's not a problem, then. Your Majesty, your thoughts on the situation?"

"Thank you, Admiral. I know no better than you, Colonel Curtiss. I am willing to heed your advice. There is but one thing, however... Was Guy, under this 'Curse Slot', as you say, trying to attack anyone in particular?"

"No." Luke shot Jade a perplexed glance, but the colonel stood fast with his answer, giving no indication that he had noticed the redhead. "He simply refused to speak. Any action he had taken had to have been forced upon him by the user."

"I see. Then I suppose you should be wary of him nonetheless. Is that everything?"

"I believe so," Ion concluded. "But shall we decide who is to accompany Luke to Akzeriuth besides Van? Surely they won't go alone."

"If I may beg permission--" Cantabile dropped to one knee gracefully. She bowed deeply before the king, letting her scabbard loose from her belt in a traditional Malkuthian show of submission. "I would be honored to accompany Master Luke and aid in any way possible, Your Majesty."

"Permission granted, Admiral."

Cantabile rose, clicking the latch for the scabbard back to the belt. She nodded to him again, then stepped back in place.

"I will go as well," Jade added. "I'd hate to make our party any larger than it must be, but it seems my assistance would be valuable."

"I'll go, too," I on said. "You'll need an ambassador. I'd like to volunteer."

"Hm, an ambassador..." Ingobert thought over the idea for a moment, then responded. "It wouldn't be a bad idea. We do need someone to bear official news of our compliance to Malkuth. I suppose it would be best if we sent someone from Daath."

"Your Majesty, sir, forgive me for interrupting again," Cantabile spoke up boldly. "I would be willing to offer my services as an ambassador as well. I was born in Malkuth, but I serve the Order. No disrespect toward the Fon Master, but perhaps I would be a more fitting figure to bear the formal agreement to the treaty."

Ion looked over to her, fuming inside, but still able to control his placid behavior. He was ready to get back to somewhere he didn't have to play the part of the clumsy little kid anymore. Honestly, the Order revolved around him, and his power was now lying in a false front of pure and utter innocence. "I don't mind, Admiral. Nothing taken. You may be the official ambassador if you see fit."

"Much gratitude, Fon Master." Cantabile bowed lavishly. "I will wear the title with pride."

"Well if Ion's going, then I am, too!" Anise cut in. "I'm his guardian!"

Jade sighed. "Just one more on our number, then..."

"Father, I implore you to allow me to accompany them as well," Natalia pleaded.

"I'm sorry, Natalia. I cannot let you be put in such danger. We discussed this last night; I stand by my word."

Natalia bowed her head slightly, consenting quietly.

"Your number shouldn't be a problem. However, we're highly suspicious of the landship that was sighted not far off the coast." Ingobert gave Jade a sly glance. "It appeared to be Malkuthian. We can't afford to let you go by sea, Fon Master. I'm afraid you'll have to go by land, but we'll set out a decoy ship to remove suspicion."

"That's an excellent plan," said Ion. "Now then, if everything is taken care of..."

Ingobert raised a cautioning hand. "The decoy will shove off in exactly thirty minutes. I expect all to be ready to leave before or at that time. You may arrange your own meeting place, but make sure you stay within the time limit. If you're off at the wrong time, then there is the possibility that you'll be spotted by the God-Generals."

"Got it!" Luke nodded vigorously. "I'm ready when everyone else is."

"I'd like to take a moment to rest, actually." Ion shrugged sheepishly. "I'm sorry, Luke. Long discussions tire me. I'll be ready in time, though. Don't worry."

"I bid you good luck, then." King Ingobert smiled warmly at each of them.

As Luke turned to leave, Ingobert shook his head sadly. Alpine saw him out of the corner of his eye, but he remained alert at his post. It was not fitting for a mere aide to press an all ready challenging issue of his master.

But in the name of the Score, it had to be done.

* * *

Thanks to Medomai (Apakoha) for betaing! 

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	11. Darkened Skies

**Disclaimer:** I don't own rights to the game, the characters, anything—as much as I wish I did.

Thanks to all who gave me ideas for this fic. And, of course, to all who review.

**A/N:** Chapter 11.

Oh yes, there is a little treat for you guys at the end of the chapter, so I'd like to hear your comments on that as well. :)

I'll shut up now.

* * *

Guy panted heavily. He resisted the urge to touch the wounded area of his shoulder. He had been attempting to ignore it since Tear had hit him with one of her daggers at Choral Castle as they made their escape. The God-Generals had advised against doing anything but stopping the bleeding until they could have a healer look at it, and it just so happened that Legretta was waiting for them in the Tartarus. Her instructions were simple: remove it. 

Guy braced himself against the narrow wall. He found no hold for his feet on the slick steel floor of the Tartarus, but he held himself as tense as he could. He closed his eyes, resisting the urge to just pull the thing from his shoulder and be done with it. He could rip it out, then a Seventh Fonist could heal it, but damn them if the only Seventh Fonists on board were female, unless he counted Asch, but the redhead clearly had no interest in healing artes or helping others, so that was hopeless.

Largo hovered over him, and the willing Seventh Fonist, Legretta, stood back to ready her spell. The Black Lion came close to Guy's face, apologizing softly for the awkwardness of the situation. Largo himself got hold of the wall, then placed his knee in front of the blond's chest to hold him back. Carefully, the man fingered the hilt on the dagger, reading its direction and depth with slight tugs. Guy winced at every motion, but Largo muttered that slow tears would probably hurt more than quick ones. By the time he had finally judged the wound sufficiently, Guy had slackened. Largo suddenly yanked it from his flesh with no warning, and Guy screamed out in pain, falling forward to the deck.

"I'm sorry. It had to be done." Largo examined the blade of the knife. It was sleek, at least, and if it had been barbed, it would have practically torn his muscle to shreds.

"You could have warned me!" gasped Guy, still cringing. Legretta moved closer, applying the seventh fonic arte. Guy lurched up, ready to run for it, but Largo grabbed his arm. Guy turned to him in shock. "Hey! What the hell are--"

"You're bleeding all over the place, boy! Get back here and let her heal you!"

"No!"

Largo sighed. He hated using force, but force it must be if Guy was to ever listen to him. He dragged him back down and latched his other steel fist to his right arm, holding him forward to the healer. "Now, child. I know of your fear. Just relax."

Guy could not, no matter how hard he tried, release the spring of tension coiled through him. His gaze remained on Legretta's stoic expression, his heart racing. Why? What the hell had done this to him?! He closed his eyes tightly, thrusting his head to face in the other direction. Slowly, he began to feel the arte take effect, and it eased the muscled around the site of the wound. He gasped, the rest of his arm soon numbed, then he let himself... relax. With a grunt, he thought of _her_ again, and he struggled to get away.

Legretta massaged the area around the gash slowly, still focusing on the Seventh Fonons. "This is a terrible wound... And to think we had to wait even until now to remove it."

"It seems that soaking it has helped. It looked worse before, but I suppose we couldn't really tell with the blade in the way in the first place," said Largo.

"Either way, now we can heal it properly. We were in no shape to get to it then, anyway," said Legretta.

"True enough. He was all ready stressed from Choral Castle, but that dagger must have caused quite a bit of--"

"Gailardia! Come to your senses! You're not to be harmed! Why do you resist?" Legretta snapped.

"I-I—I have no idea!"

"Such weakness! Do not let such a petty thing fool you. There is no place for cowards in the Oracle Knights."

"I can't—!" Guy kicked out at her, but the officer leaped aside swiftly. She sighed sharply, turning away. Guy scrambled out of Largo's arms, but just as he had gotten to his feet, Legretta spun and latched onto his arm. Guy paled, and he hardly heard her next remark over his own bloodcurdling shriek.

"Get over it."

* * *

Ion latched the door behind him securely. He trotted down the stone stairs to the prison cell, sighing. Anise had been difficult to get rid of, but in his act of presenting himself as feeble, he had almost forgotten his authority to order the girl to leave him alone. It had upset her, but that did not trouble the Fon Master. Other than that, he had managed to detach himself from the overprotective group with minimal trouble. Luke was eager to see Van, Jade and Tear would rather not, and Cantabile seemed quietly reluctant to meet with the commandant, though she had never outwardly said anything. He doubted that after all they had done for her that she would desert, of all things, but he made a mental note to be wary of the temperamental admiral's half-concealed hesitance. 

"Ah, Fon Master," Van greeted him quietly. "Have the guards left?"

Ion stepped down to the landing and halted before the tall man. "Yes. I had them stay well away. Is there anything to report?"

Van stroked his goatee. "Guy has joined the others on the Tartarus. They're still docked just outside of Baticul, but they are under orders to head to Daath immediately. We have business to take care of there. Anything of interest happen during the meeting?"

"Not particularly. We have decided to leave for Akzeriuth by land, but a decoy ship will be set out. I'm afraid with both of us tied up as we are like this, there is no way of informing the God-Generals."

"What about Cantabile?"

"She's a bit caught in it herself," Ion explained. "She volunteered to go to Akzeriuth, you see. Bowing and begging and the whole ritual. It was pathetic."

"Fascinating."

"Anyway, when should be the best time to tell Luke of his task?"

Van closed his eyes thoughtfully. "I'll be the one to do that; you need not worry about him."

"Very well, if you see that best fitting. He has rather come to trust me, though."

"Fon Master," Van started, breathing in deeply. "_Everyone_ trusts you."

* * *

The sky's darkness made Baticul seem unusually dim for late noon. Luke grimaced as he led the group outside; he had been wary of the imminent bad weather since the boat ride to the capital. There was no doubt that it would pour down rain in the next few hours. 

The group waited in silence for the Fon Master to return. His sudden need to speak to the commandant in the prison cell and his curt command for Anise to leave him unless given permission to do otherwise had obviously hurt the girl, perhaps more than the young ruler had intended. Anise herself was pacing the courtyard without saying a word, where Luke would have thought it more like her to try to hide her worry behind her exuberant attachment to him, or, moreover, his money.

Jade was the only on that was outwardly calm. He was in deep thought, absently picking at the fon slot seal every so often, as it had become habit to do so when things slowed down enough to allow him a moment to concentrate.

Cantabile stood ill at ease. She repeatedly glanced back from castle to the port down below, then up to the dismal sky and its bedraggled, smoky clouds. She did not trust herself near Van just yet. He would undoubtedly find out; it was apparent that even the sly colonel had made his predictions and suspected her as well. That could not be a good thing, especially if one so crafty as himself should see it in his best interest to use her actions for his own vile ends.

Tear sighed. Their number was was a large one for a group that was to sneak out of the city and take on a mountain path. The citizens would no doubt be uneasy if they got word of the plan to aid Kimlasca's long-time rival. There being Oracle Knights present would probably involve the Order also—a prospect that did not exactly appeal to the woman. There was nothing she could do.

The doors swung open, admitting Ion and Van. The others turned to them, and the soldiers stationed outside saluted quickly.

"Master Van!" Luke ran to the commandant. "Are you ready to leave for Akzeriuth yet?"

Cantabile stiffened. She hoped her tenseness would deter the man's attention, but she noticed his eyes sweep her briefly; she glanced down. Not here, not now. He wouldn't.

Jade scanned the Oracle Knight. "I hate to tell him of our plan, but I suppose we have no choice."

"It's all right," Ion nodded happily. "I was just informing him of it, actually. We've decided that we should probably split the party; one half may go by land, and the other half shall board the decoy ship. If the God-Generals see someone they know is going to Akzeriuth on the ship, it'll be a more successful endeavor."

"That makes sense. Who's going where, then?" asked Luke. "I want to go with Master Van."

"I'm afraid that won't be possible, Luke," Van informed the redhead. "We're only taking these that are urgently needed there ahead of time on the ship. Not that we don't need you—I simply wanted some assistance in checking the status of the Fubras River on the way. Apparently, that is where the source of the miasma is located. Tear, Cantabile, if you would..."

Tear nodded reluctantly, and Cantabile refused to indicate any answer for a moment. She gave a quick affirmative after a while. There would be no point in arousing suspicion so soon.

"But what of the Tartarus?" Jade questioned. "Your own men have captured it from Malkuth. Why can you not order them to evacuate and relinquish the ship to us? It would no doubt prove useful."

"I would, but not only do they blatantly disobey my orders, they have threatened the life of Guy if I make any action in the way of reclaiming the Tartarus."

Luke perked at he sound of his friend's name. "Guy? What are they doing to him?!"

Van gazed down at his student fondly. "Most likely holding him captive. They wouldn't kill him unless I try to take control of the Tartarus, I can assure you—if they did, then they would no longer have that power over us."

"You speak as though they are another unit and not your own," Cantabile pointed out sullenly. "Is that all we God-Generals mean to you?"

Van turned to her, amused. "I apologize, Admiral. I meant no disrespect toward those that obey me."

She glared at him scornfully when he turned attention back to Luke.

"Luke... Now is your time to be a hero. Just do as the Fon Master and I tell you, and you'll do fine."

"Right... Thanks, Master."

"It's time to leave," observed Tear. "We should head back to the lower levels now."

With one final wink, Van let his conversation with Luke drop so as to please his sister.

When they reached the main entrance, a soldier stopped them. "This area has been closed off. The Dark Wings were spotted leaving yesterday afternoon, so we cannot allow any civilians to interfere with the search efforts going on."

"Great! What do we do now?" Luke moaned, directing the question at Van.

The commandant had an answer ready almost instantly. "You can use the abandoned factory in the southeast part of the city. I'm sure you can find some way out."

"Van, is there no other way out of the city?" Tear asked, slightly irritated.

"I'm afraid we may be late if we were to go back and get His Majesty's permission to pass."

"An old factory... That sounds dangerous. Be sure to be careful, Ion!" Anise reminded the boy.

"Of course!"

"Tear, Admiral, shall we head to the port now...?" Van began.

The two women followed him reluctantly. They obviously didn't want to go and were convinced that few other arrangements could be as bad as the one the commandant had deemed the most practical. Van purchased their tickets when they arrived. Tear and Cantabile stood back, quietly conversing.

The older Oracle Knight returned shortly. Tear turned to him sharply, wasting no time in launching the question that had been on her mind since she had been informed that she was to accompany him to the Fubras River. "Van, does this have something to do with the Seventh Fonstone? Admiral Cantabile has informed me that it has supposedly been found near the Fubras."

"It's funny you should mention that, Tear." Van dropped his voice to a whisper. "In fact, yes, that is part of the reason we're heading there. I was going to confirm it myself, but then we received word of the thick miasma there, and you know the properties of the miasma—it takes longer to affect younger bodies. I thought having you there with me may prove useful should something go wrong. You are a Seventh Fonist, after all."

"But I'm not," interjected Cantabile. "Why do you insist that I come as well?"

"It's no matter," Van said slowly, as if he had planned out an entire script for the occasion. "Your duty is to obey orders and not to question them."

Cantabile growled lowly, but she gave no other form of protest. He knew now, she was sure of it, and the consequences would be dire. She would have to be ready when he made his move.

* * *

Luke and the remainder of the group backtracked to the aircar dock that would take them to the abandoned factory. Immediately, Ion noticed a lack of soldiers, and Jade was slightly surprised that the Fon Master had pointed it out before him. 

"It's rather suspicious." Jade shrugged. "But I suppose we can't hang around here any longer. Off we go, kids."

They stepped on, and the fontech elevator slid down its track, deep into the workings of the machinery below. With a pang of guilt, Luke thought of how much Guy would enjoy such a trip.

"Hm, it's pretty dark... Ion, watch out," said Anise when they arrived and the aircar came to a full stop at the bottom.

"I will, Anise."

The gloomy atmosphere allowed almost no light from above to penetrate. It was hard to keep up any sort of pace in the darkness, and oil was thick on the air. There was no telling what had been produced in the factory, but whatever it was had had to be a decent size, given the large spaces between the walkways they were on and the ones above.

"It's a shame we don't have Mieu; he could just breathe fire so we could see." Luke shrugged sadly.

"That probably wouldn't be a good idea, anyway. There is likely a lot more oil in here than you think, and any slight source of ignition could cause the entire place to blow up," Jade pointed out.

Luke cringed. "Wow..."

They progressed in silence, but they didn't go far before they heard a scream from ahead. Luke halted, attempting to scan the darkness and see something, but there was nothing but more black smudges that could easily be more machinery. He squinted, and he was sure one of them moved. When it twitched again, he instantly had his sword in had and dashed for it. The others called for him, but there was no mistaking the voice was Natalia's.

She came into view, backed against a wall by the enormous monster that had put her there. It was some kind of oil-coated spider, and it struck her again with its claws. Natalia valiantly readied another arrow and fired, but then dropped back and tried to get around it, holding her arm the whole time as though it had been injured.

"Fang Blade!" Luke tore across the metal platform to the beast, putting himself in front of Natalia.

"Luke?!"

"Get back! I'll hold it off!"

"No! I'll fight, too!"

"You're hurt, dammit!" The monster slashed at Luke, but the boy deflected it with his blade.

Jade, Anise, and Ion arrived shortly. The colonel began casting, and Tokunaga swelled, Anise taking her position on top of it. The monster spun, slinging oil and grime onto them. Ion backed away, touching his lip hesitantly.

"Stalagmite!"

"Dual Punishment!"

"Havoc Strike!"

"Storm Edge!"

The assault was relentless. After several minutes of battering the monster's bulk to the wall, Jade glanced around hastily. It wasn't dying, and their attacks could barely cut through the slime that clung to its skin to harm it. All they were doing was driving it into the rear wall, which seemed to be where its burrow was, judging by the mass amounts of rubble slapped across the wall. Jade could see an opening behind it, and that would be perfect. All of the freshly upturned stone and metal was less likely to have faint trails of the flammable oil to other parts of the factory. Kill or cure.

"Flame Burst!"

Natalia and Anise gasped in horror as the fire erupted before them, engulfing the monster and sending it slamming through the wall with a sickening squelch that was accompanied by the snapping of most if not all of its spindly legs. Luke blinked, shaking his head to rid himself of the burning pattern of green lights that invaded his sight. When he opened them again, he started at the sight of the monster, which was half in and half out of the hole it had plowed into the steel. Debris was scattered, and the rough opening that had once been concealed was visible.

"Jade!" Natalia ran to the colonel, jabbing a finger to his chest angrily. "Just what on Auldrant were you _thinking?!_ You could have killed us!"

Jade huffed as though exasperated, though his broad smile gave him away. "I was taking care of the monster. You're quite welcome, Princess."

"How rude!" The livid woman placed her hands to her hips arrogantly.

"Hey, what's this?" Anise pointed to the opening, and the rest turned to peer through it. There seemed to be some kind of rusted elevator shaft in it running straight up, and a small puddle of daylight spilled down from above.

"Wish Guy was here... He could tell us how it works and everything," observed Luke.

Ion treaded over the mangled steel to the group carefully. "Oh, is everyone all right?"

"Fon Master! What are you doing here? It's much too dangerous." Natalia darted to him, taking his hand comfortingly.

Ion shook her off absently. "Princess... I should be asking the same of you. This is no place for someone of your status!"

"I've heard enough of that!" Natalia declared. "_You're_ going back to the castle! No argument!"

"Well, well..." Jade sighed. "Princess, you know we need Ion to help in Akzeriuth. Why don't you head back now? You're the one that was ordered to remain in the city."

"I can't!"

"We don't need more of a burden, Your Highness," Jade said plaintively.

Natalia continued her protest stubbornly. "I can fight, too! I am a master of Lanvaldearean-style archery!"

Luke cut in abruptly. "More like the master of getting ambushed! We had to get you out of that mess, you know?!"

"Please stop arguing!" Ion pleaded. "We need to keep going!"

"Not with Natalia we're not!" Luke shot back.

"Luke!"

"Natalia, you don't know what it's like out there! You've never been in a real battle before! That's why you got hurt! See?"

Natalia made a weak effort to hide her crippled arm behind her back. "I-I just—I just slipped, missed a step, that's all! You know I know what I'm doing, Luke!"

"You liar!" he snapped, and she almost winced as his harsh mood suddenly made itself evident. "Natalia, we don't have the time to stand here arguing! Just listen to what I say, and go back home! Uncle will be upset if he finds out you left without his permission!"

"How do you know I sneaked out?" The princess raised an eyebrow.

"U-Uncle would never let you--!"

"How do you know, Luke? He may just have well granted me permission to go. You weren't there to see it."

"B-But!" sputtered Luke helplessly. He looked over to Jade, who was grinning blandly, his expression utterly unreadable.

"Dear Princess Natalia..." he began, bowing for effect. "His Majesty may have allowed you to accompany us, but did he truly send you alone? He sent his only daughter and heir to the throne into a dangerous, filthy, old factory without so much as a unit of guards? Is that it?"

"Well--!" Natalia looked broken under the colonel's gaze. His logic proved unanswerable.

Jade turned his back to the woman. "It's no matter now, anyway. It seems our path is blocked."

The others gasped in astonishment. No one had even noticed that the force from the mighty explosion had rendered the metal soft under its heat, leaving it easily bent and snapped when the rubble followed. Whatever parts of the path that had not been destroyed were thoroughly obstructed, and there was no quick way around it. "Well, kids, it looks like there's nothing to do now but try to get out of here as fast as we can. We've wasted enough time as it is. I can see sunlight from that elevator shaft—shall we try that?"

Anise shook her head in amazement. "Colonel, I don't believe you! First you nearly kill us with that fonic arte, then you block our only way back to the city, and now you're changing the subject like nothing even happened!"

"There is nothing to do but look forward," he said pointedly. "As I was saying..."

"That shaft..." Luke turned back to the opening, examining the walls of the structure. "What was it used for, Jade?"

"Freight, I assume."

"Is there any way up?" Natalia joined the redheaded noble, she too assuming a position so as to have a better look up the shaft. It was rather narrow—she estimated it to be about four feet square and at a perfect ninety degree angle—and no one could maneuver his way to the surface under those conditions. Besides, there was no telling just how deep they were.

Luke prepared to comment on the impossibility of any of them making the climb when suddenly, the light was extinguished. He snorted in slight confusion, unable to grasp any plausible reason that the damn thing had to just go out like that. He looked back to Jade, perplexed, and the older man approached to see what had happened for himself.

"Hmmm... It looks like the metal around it was a lot thinner than the walkways. It's not meant to bear the weight of humans, after all."

"But wouldn't the soil weigh more?" asked Natalia.

"Probably, but it has been constructed in such a way that it can hold that kind of weight more easily. The soil is a more fixed pressure, and therefore can be dealt with more easily than the spontaneous pressure points that are created by walking across the metal platforms."

"I see... Is there any way we can utilize that to get up there?"

Jade adjusted his glasses and brushed off his uniform busily. "I doubt it. The smallest upset would bring it toppling down on top of us. In fact, it could probably fall at any minute."

Luke and Natalia jerked away from the hole. They cringed, waiting for the dirt to rush down all of a sudden, but it held. Jade gave a light chuckle. Luke frowned at him, frustrated at his amusement. "It's not funny!"

"We need to get out of here," Ion mumbled, shuddering slightly for effect.

"Correct." Jade faced the Fon Master. "It looks like the shaft isn't possible to scale, nor would it be easy to locate the elevator and use it. Let's look around."

"Here, look!" Anise motioned to the colonel. "There's a ladder. We can get up a little higher, at least."

Jade examined the ladder. "It'll have to hold for now. Fon Master, you and Anise can go first."

Anise helped Ion onto the ladder first, then she climbed after him as swiftly as she could. Luke and Natalia followed, then Jade went last. Luckily, the supple steel of which it had been crafted was strong enough to bear their weight.

"We can't afford any time to rest." Jade watched the group carefully. "Look. There's some kind of emergency exit right here. I'd be willing to bet there are stairs as well."

"How do you know that?" Luke ventured.

"Well, there have to be _emergency_ stairs leading to an _emergency_ exit," Jade pointed out.

"Oh. Right."

Jade walked over to the doorway and glanced down. "Though it appears that we're all ready too high off the ground. Let's see... Ah, here we are..." He produced a rope ladder from a heap of molded debris and discarded oil drums.

"I'll go first again, Ion," said Anise. "You won't want to slip and hurt yourself. It looks like it's raining."

Luke joined Jade at the threshold and stared up to the sky. The roiling opaque clouds had finally released their intense burden, and the sudden rainfall neglected to seep into the earth and flushed off the topsoil in its mad rush. Near a desert, the soil had to have been no more than sand, but that did not mask the fact that it would no doubt be a royal mess to walk through. Luke groaned.

Jade looped the ends of the rope through two metal pegs near the opening. He let the ladder hang down, then allowed Anise to start. Going down took much longer than coming up had, and Ion had to wait quite a while to begin his descent. Natalia followed him, then the remaining males went last. Luke snorted as his feet hit the sodden ground, and he vainly tried to shake the mud from the bottoms of his shoes. The rain seemed light at first, but it soon became apparent that it was more than that, especially at the relentless pace at which it fell. He advanced, then with a yelp, slid on the mud and went down. It took until the others realized that he had gone down, _into_ the earth, for them to rush to his aid. Luke clung to the rim of the hole, frantically trying to get his footing on the slick metal that lined it. "What the hell?!" he sputtered.

"Back off, now!" A voice sounded from the distance, and it was difficult to discern figure from mist until Jade recognized the voice.

"Sync!"

Sync the Tempest stepped into view haughtily, and another was close behind. Before anyone could place a name to a face for the second one, Sync attacked. He dashed through their ranks, and they hastily grabbed their weapons. Luke gulped, and the other man knelt to the hole, grinning. The redhead winced, expecting him to shove him in and leave him for dead, but to his surprise, the other man grasped his arms and heaved him up. Luke stared in complete and utter shock as he caught a glimpse of his face on the way up. A cold blade was forced against his throat roughly, and Luke could only stand meekly, appalled at the man's appearance. His sleek, blood-red hair, his familiar emerald eyes blazing hatred, his black Oracle uniform, and—!

All fighting ceased when the man's voice boomed out across the clearing.

"Hand over Ion, or the replica dies!"

* * *

Thanks to Medomai (Apakoha) for betaing! 

[Here's the little treat I promised (copy and remove spaces to see it): http//i195. photobucket. com /albums /z90/ squidmaster64/ AschandLuke--ALmeetingscene. png

Hope you enjoyed, and don't forget to leave a review!


	12. Asch the Bloody

**Disclaimer:** I don't own rights to the game, the characters, anything—as much as I wish I did.

Thanks to all who gave me ideas for this fic. And _especially_ to all who review.

**A/N:** Chapter11... :runs and hides from the other Asch fans who don't get an explanation yet:

I'll shut up now.

* * *

The blade never left Luke's throat until he was hauled roughly into a dimly lit cell along with the others. Anise squealed, but the other three remained silent. Sync snickered in the darkness, stroking his mask tauntingly. "You're lucky we had a decent hold ready for the traitor!" 

"Let us out right now!" demanded Luke. He stood shakily, battering the iron bars of the brig just as the door slammed shut. He fell back, growled, and returned to the door. Sync stared back at him through his mask, unflinching.

"Why should I?"

"Sync! You're needed at the bridge! Leave them for now and get yourself up here this instant!" The voice echoed down the stairway to the cells, and Luke winced at the familiarity of the sound. It was... whoever had captured him. The man with his face.

Sync scowled at them one last time, then spun to return to the deck. Luke relaxed, stumbling back to check for his comrades. Jade stood neatly, unflappable as usual, and Anise was poring over every square inch of Ion's being for the slightest hint of an injury. Natalia placed a hesitant hand on Luke's shoulder, and the boy jolted in surprise. He turned to her suddenly.

"Luke... Do you know who that man was?"

"N-No, I--"

"He's Asch the Bloody, one of the Six God-Generals," Jade informed them. "They wanted Ion, but why do they hold him here with us? There must be some other plan ingrained in this. Any ideas?"

There were muted grunts from the others. Eventually, Ion offered his thoughts. "Could they have only captured Luke because he was the first one to fall into the trap? If it had been anyone else, I'm sure it would have been easy for them to put a blade to their neck and say the same thing...except..."

"Yeah! What the hell did he mean by 'replica'? What kind of an insult is that?"

Ion and Jade's gazes froze.

"I'm sure it's nothing, Luke," Natalia said hurriedly. "How are we going to get out of here?"

Anise released Ion, satisfied that he was unharmed. "If anyone knows the Tartarus, it's the colonel."

"Yes..." Jade hummed absently. "What do they plan to do with us now? Surely there is nothing besides threatening our lives that they needed only us for."

"Maybe they wanted to stop us from helping at Akzeriuth," Ion noted.

"That shouldn't be any interest of theirs, frankly," Jade pointed out, "Unless, however, they have much larger plans than we anticipated. Still, staying here in their custody can't be a good thing. We should find a way to escape."

There was a sudden banging from above, and the door slammed open to admit four Oracle Knights and Sync the Tempest. They halted in front of the door to the cell. One of the Oracle Knights advanced, swiftly unlatching the lock and dragging Ion away.

"Hey! Stop!" Anise protested. The nameless soldier grunted, knocking her back with a heavily armored gauntlet. She scowled as another soldier took Ion, the first bolted the door, and Sync gave them a taunting wave before disappearing behind the steel door again.

Anise groaned, fists sliding down the bars. She sighed and released them, turning to the others. "There you go, Colonel. Now they have Ion."

"It doesn't matter. We still need to focus on getting out of here," Jade told her.

"That's right," said Luke.

"Now, where to start..."

* * *

Ion was taken to the bridge. Asch the Bloody seemed to have the most experience with landships of all of them, so the steering had been left to him. As soon as Sync had left the room from delivering Ion, Asch began interrogating him. 

"Fon Master, give your report."

"The Sephiroth have been opened. Van took me to each one. He would have done them all at once had I not gotten sick after releasing each one. But that's no matter. All that's left is the Zao Ruins."

Dammit. Opening the Sephiroth could only mean one thing: Van intended to operate them.

"He's programmed them to fall with Akzeriuth," Ion explained. "With the Albertesque Seal in place, we cannot budge the Sephiroth, but we can program them how we like. As soon as that is destroyed at Akzeriuth, all will fall into place."

"Is there anything else to report?" Asch continued curtly.

Ion nodded to him sharply. "The captives plan to escape as well. I doubt they'll be any problem to take care of, though."

"I see. That is all, then, Fon Master. You may leave."

"Thank you, Commander. I'll wait on deck. I don't think I can stand their presence any longer," he said, his voice edging a snarl with his last comment.

"Very well. There's no harm in doing that."

Ion departed calmly, leaving a rather unsettled Asch. He knew it. All that time, he'd seen Ion and Van together, always whispering to each other in hushed tones whenever he _did_ see them. They hardly appeared in public until the whole affair had started. Plotting, Asch had thought. Always plotting. He knew it was nothing good—anything that dealt with interfering with the Sephiroth would be widespread and massively destructive. It seemed that Van was taking the Score's prediction one step too far.

* * *

Arietta the Wild sighed, giving the man at her side a frustrated glare. It was bad enough she had to be back in the Fubras, but of all people, she had to be on a mission with the scum of the God-Generals, the laughing stock of the Oracle Knights, and the most repulsive lizard to walk the face of Auldrant: _Dist._

She could put up with his narcissism. She could put up with his feminine _makeup_. She could not, however, put up with his _whining_. If he didn't _shut up_ in ten seconds, her liger friends would have his windpipe bare on the ground in an instant. Next to him, the miasma seemed almost pleasant.

"Ugh, all this icky, muddy water! It's going to get my chair all dirty!" The God-General huffed, carefully steering his hovering chair just above the ground. His neck was craned down, and he tried his best to see whether the gathering water was high enough to reach the bottom of the chair. With a grunt, it rose, and Dist continued his rant. "Look at it splashing all over the place! I swear, if it _ever_ comes out--"

"Shut up!" Arietta screeched suddenly. Dist jerked, moving toward the girl swiftly. He raised a finger to begin arguing with her, but the liger that always accompanied the beastmaster gave a dark growl. Dist backed away. He refused to give in, though, and he just settled for countering from a distance.

"Listen, girl! You do not interrupt the beautiful God-General, Dist the Rose! I have--"

"I don't care!" she replied stubbornly. "Just shut up!"

"Why, you ignorant little--!"

The liger's gruff warning swelled. It stepped forward threateningly, separating its master from the God-General. Arietta dug her face into her plush doll, and she gave the liger a slight nod.

With a harsh bark, the liger pounced. Dist wailed, falling back even before it reached him and tumbling into the mud. The liger pinned him to the sodden ground by resting on his chest and arms. Dist began to weep, squirming to get away. "Let me go! Let me go! I'll put this down in my revenge journal, you slimy, filthy, ground-grubbing, mangy, old cat!"

"Don't say that about my friends!" Arietta shouted. The liger shoved its face into Dist's, causing the man to scream again. It uttered another growl that silenced him.

Arietta walked up to him. "You're lucky Van's orders specifically said that I'm not allowed to kill you. You know I would; you know it!" She turned to the liger and said gently, "Release him, but don't let him out of your sight until I say so." It nodded and allowed Dist up. The man sprang to his feet and ran to recover his chair. He wiped as much of the mud off of it as he could, this time without commentary.

Arietta watched him for a while until, growing bored, her gaze wandered off to the horizon. The gloom of the miasma restricted her ability to see very far. The others had to hurry. The miasma was getting worse, and soon she may even have to move closer to the other side of the river to avoid the poison fog. It had all ready grown too thick behind her, which was why she and Dist were somewhere around halfway across. By tomorrow morning, they had to be there. It was Van's promise. Those that followed Van's orders were duly rewarded.

* * *

After a few hours of sitting in the cell on the Tartarus, even Luke had run out of complaints. Having exhausted the especially unpleasant description with which he had blessed the place, he had given up and discovered sleep to be out of the question. It was physically impossible for him to get comfortable. He mumbled something no doubt obscene before propping himself up against a wall, arms crossed sullenly. The others had chosen their places against the wall—well, all except for Anise. She had been pacing at the door since Ion had been taken. Her footsteps did not, surprisingly, break the stiff silence that had fallen over them; if anything, it made it worse. 

They had grown so used to the steady click of her boots on the steel that when she suddenly stopped, they turned to her. She leaned against the bars slightly, peering down the hall. She gasped as a figure emerged from the door on the other side, shutting the door behind him as softly as possible. Jade stood, joining her.

"Be quiet," the figure hissed. Jade nodded to Anise, and they stepped back from the door when he went to fumble with the lock.

"Asch? Asch the Bloody?" inquired Jade.

The Oracle Knight frowned more deeply at him. "I said no talking. Just get out of here."

"What? You're letting us go?" Luke sprang from his place on the floor. "What's going on here?"

Asch gave him a cold glare.

"Luke, we're at a disadvantage whether he's freeing us or if it's a trap. Just don't let your guard down."

Asch grunted. "Shut up, you hear me?!"

They filed out in silence. Natalia was the last to leave, and as she passed him, she paused for a moment. She gave him a searching look, but he forced his own gaze away. "The exit is over here. Follow me." He led them down the hall and into another room, constantly glancing around as if he expected to be seen by a fellow Oracle Knight.

"Here." He indicated the doorway with a wave. "There's a ladder. You'll have to hurry; Sync won't be long restocking. If you don't go now, you'll lose your chance and have to jump while it's moving."

"But what about--" Anise sputtered.

"Don't worry about the Fon Master. I'll take care of him."

Luke snorted. "This, from the one that threatened my life?! Who the hell are you, anyway?!"

Asch gave no response. Jade nodded knowingly, then started down the ladder. Luke looked back to Asch one last time. "I--"

"Don't waste your time, dreck." Asch spun, walking back down the hall. Luke looked perplexed, and Natalia sighed, gently pulling Luke to the ladder.

"He's right, Luke. We don't have much time. Let's just get out of here," she told him.

Luke nodded, placing a hesitant foot on the first rung. He made an effort not to look anywhere but to the next place he prepared to put his foot. The Tartarus was an enormous vehicle, and falling from three or four stories up wasn't exactly appealing. Eventually, he made it to the bottom.

Jade sighed. For the second time since the Tartarus had been captured, he had been on it and off again. Until there were less God-Generals controlling it, though, he figured there was nothing he could do.

From inside the ship, another being watched their descent. It scuffled over to the hatch just as the last person was making its way down. It looked on, wide-eyed, and dashed back to the deck.

The group moved away from the Tartarus as it began to stir again. It hummed, then began to slide across the sand, gathering speed. The heat of the desert air warped the dark blob it became, and Jade glared after it regretfully. No time for that. He turned to the others.

Luke was the first to form a question. "What do we--"

"An oasis." Jade gazed past the noble at the small town clustered around what appeared to be an enormous fonstone. "We go there and ask for information. There may be another town nearby or we could even get to Chesedonia."

"Ion..." Anise stared at the point on the horizon where the Tartarus' shadow still lingered.

"We'll rescue Ion," Natalia assured her. "Let's get to safe ground first."

Luke, too, watched the Tartarus. He refrained from voicing the myriad of complaints that swarmed his mind. It was not the time for that, and besides, there were more important things to worry about, like who Asch the Bloody really_ was. _So far, all he was was an Oracle Knight that appeared out of the blue, tried to kill him not once but twice, captured him and his friends, and then released them. It made no sense at all.

The others' conversation became a dull noise in the background. Luke winced and ran a finger through his hair. He shook his head slightly, as though the motion would ward off the dizziness that had enveloped him. It began to pass eventually, but it hadn't been enough of a headache for him to hear voices.

"Luke? Luke, are you all right?" Natalia asked for the second time.

"Huh?! Oh right, yeah," said Luke halfheartedly.

"Let's head to the town," Jade suggested. "We should rest as well. Some of us appear to be more vulnerable to the desert's heat than others."

Luke gave a dry grunt, and Jade chuckled. They started for the town, but it turned out to be further than they had anticipated thanks to the tricks of the desert atmosphere. Still, it only took a matter of minutes to arrive.

The town was indeed very small—it could hardly even be called that. The only building there was a store. A well sat just in front of the store, and a pool of shimmering water could be seen inside. A man stood near it, guarding it like it was treasure, which was no surprise. The spring which had been tapped must not have been very deep, and they must have been worried that it would run dry any day. The fonstone they had seen from afar protruded from a tiny lake. That lake had to have been the only thing attracting life in the otherwise barren grounds.

Luke groaned again just as they entered the city. Natalia began to berate him for whining, but her words sounded empty and faraway to Luke. His head was throbbing, and he fell to his knees, moaning in pain. The other three moved around him, but all Luke sensed was the pain and a voice. The voice itself was only of normal volume, but being contained to his head and the—the _pain—_amplified it.

"_Hey, dreck! Can you hear me?!" _it demanded.

"Asch?" Luke asked, unconscious of the others' listening. "Where are--"

_"Shut up, dreck! Listen to me!"_

"What do you want?!"

_"Ion is in the Zao Ruins. Meet him there.__"_

"Why are you telling me that?"

Luke heard his last question fade into silence. The pain receded, but the entire ordeal left him panting. He opened his eyes slowly to see Natalia just beside him with a healing arte ready. Anise crouched opposite of her, and Jade stood further away, observing everything calmly.

"Are you okay, Luke?" Anise asked.

"I-I think it's gone now..." he said brokenly.

"You said something about that Oracle Knight, Asch." Natalia muttered. She raised her voice. "What did you say about Asch?"

"I heard him." Luke stood slowly, and he managed to keep his balance.

Natalia gasped. "What did he say?"

"Ion is in the Zao Ruins."

"Ion!" Anise nearly jumped a foot into the air. "We have to rescue him, Luke!"

"We don't have time!" the noble countered. "We're late for Akzeriuth as it stands!"

"Luke! You can't mean that!" Natalia huffed indignantly.

"Though what Luke says is true, I doubt leaving Ion in the hands of the God-Generals will be any good." Jade cut in.

"Colonel! You don't suppose they'd--" Anise began.

"No, they wouldn't kill him," he said levelly. "Still, I don't think what they intend to use him for is anything pleasant."

"Augh, so now it'll take even longer!" grumbled Luke. "Fine, fine."

Natalia gave him a sour glare. "I don't believe you..."

"Anyway," Jade continued. "We should rest here until it gets dark. It'll be easier to travel through the desert at night. Besides, we should at least replenish our supplies. It will no doubt be a harsh journey."

Luke moaned again. "Why do we have to go after Ion's sorry--"

"Luke!" Natalia grabbed him roughly. "I'll have not another word out of you! I've heard enough! We're staying here until nightfall, buying new supplies, then heading out at dusk to rescue the Fon Master, like it or not!"

"Back off, Natalia!" Luke shoved the princess from his chest. "Jeez, I don't need you on top of me, too!"

"Hmph." Natalia turned her back to Luke.

"Now, now, kids," Jade added airily. "Be nice to each other."

"Somebody needs to learn how to calm down!" Luke said loudly.

"And somebody needs to learn how to respect his superiors!" Natalia parroted in the same tone.

Anise smirked. "Why don't we leave you two lovers alone now?"

"Shut up!" cried Luke. "Damn, you're annoying!"

"Language, Master Luke," corrected Jade. "You must set a good example for Anise, now."

"Luke, you need to cool it!" Anise snapped. "We've been putting up with you for this long, and all we get is insulted! I'm sick of it!"

"Well, what are you going to do about it?!" he shot back.

"Colonel," Anise turned to Jade. "I say we leave Luke here. We'll go look for Ion ourselves."

Luke could hardly believe what he was hearing. "W-What?! You wouldn't--"

"An excellent idea," Natalia said happily. She shot Luke a sneaky grin as she walked past him to the colonel and Anise.

"Hey!" Luke sputtered. "You can't just--"

"Anise," Jade carried on the separate conversation, his usual placid self. "Here's a cut of our traveling money. It'll be your job to purchase the gels and bottles we need. Natalia, would you mind coming with me to check out their selection on armor? We may need some poison-resistant charms with all the nasty monsters around here. Also, we should ask if anyone knows where the Zao Ruins are. We can't just wander around blindly..."

Luke stood rooted to the spot, stunned. The other three wandered off to accomplish their allotted tasks, their jovial banter making his gut turn over itself. They really intended to leave him? Literally? No, he didn't need them. He would be a hero like Master Van said—he could do it without their help. Of course. He would bring prosperity to Kimlasca! First, he would have to get to Akzeriuth. And the fastest way there would be by ship. Right. They had all ready been seen by the God-Generals, so the decoy was a complete flop. The closest city would have to be Chesedonia. Ask for directions. Yes. He could do this.

Luke cleared his throat nervously. He glanced around for the nearest townsperson that, hopefully, hadn't witnessed his spat with the other three. There. He would have to do.

He approached the man confidently. "Hey, you. Can you tell me which way Chesedonia is?"

The man turned to him and gave him a sneer dripping with disgust. "Yeah, I can."

Luke flinched slightly at his curt tone, but decided not to say anything yet. He waited patiently for an answer. Half a minute passed. "Well?"

"What, you didn't come from that way?" the man grumbled. "It's north-northeast o' here. Now get out; I got work to do."

"Hey!" Luke clenched his fists, and the man seemed amused at his anger.

"What? You want to fight?"

"Do you know who I am?! You do not speak to nobility like that!"

"Who do you think yer kiddin'?" The man glared at him. "You ain't a noble, boy. You'd get sand in your fancy little boots out here."

Luke roughly grabbed the man's collar. "Take that back, you old son of a--"

"Luke!" Natalia dashed up from behind him and seized the boy's jacket.

"Natalia! Get away from me!" he barked.

Jade sighed extravagantly from Natalia's side. Luke dropped the man and spun to face the Kimlascan princess. "Stay out of this, Natalia!"

"How dare you threaten an innocent citizen!" Natalia roared. If anyone had been lucky enough to not hear the argument that had taken place not ten minutes ago, they could very well hear Natalia this time. "It's unfitting of an heir to the throne! You'd make a horrible king _and_husband! You used to be a good person, Luke. Then you just had to--" She dropped the sentence off abruptly. Luke could see her hands shaking and her eyes welling. She released him, then stormed off to the small item shop, unable to stand the sight of him any longer.

Jade closed his eyes and inhaled slowly. Luke stared down at his shoes sullenly, and when Jade spoke it startled him into jerking up to look at him.

"The princess is wrong." Jade eyed Luke carefully, and the redhead sighed with relief. Jade's expression didn't falter as he finished his statement. "But you are, as well." With that, he pivoted on his heel neatly and entered the building.

Luke grunted. Those bastards could talk about him behind his back all they wanted, but it would never make him apologize. Unsure of what else to do, Luke wandered over to the pool at the base of the fonstone. He sat under one of the scrawny trees that had managed to poke up through the infertile sand and gazed over the water. Dusk was just beginning to creep over the clear sky. It was ironic, he thought, that he had just been drenched by rain and now the sky was devoid of clouds.

Was it... always this hot? It _was_a desert, so it wasn't surprising. But even then, at that hour, it should have been cooling off, at least a little. Luke ran a damp hand through his hair and brushed it out of his eyes carelessly. For a moment, he considered how nice it would feel to take a dip in that pool. That would no doubt anger the people, though, and bringing more hatred upon himself was the last thing he needed.

Night persisted to drown out the daylight. Once it began, it quickly swallowed up the sun in dusk, and Luke heard the last shufflings and calls of the townspeople as they bid each other good night. The lights flickered on at the shop, and he noticed that from where he was, it was a lot larger than it had appeared. Of course, why hadn't he seen it before? It had to be an inn as well. That was where the others would be staying, and he would be, too, if he had any trust left in himself to be able to rent a room like a civil human being.

Luke mindlessly groped through his pockets, searching for his cut of the money. With a bolt of realization, he remembered that Jade had divvied up the money _after_ the fight. That, of course, left him with—he drew his hand from the pocket and counted out the handful of coins that he had left from the monsters in the factory—thirty gald. He groaned. No money, no help, no food, and how was he supposed to make it all the way to Chesedonia like that?! He would have to. He would be a hero, right?

Suddenly the headache came back. A torrent of pain engulfed him, and he couldn't contain a whine of surprise. In his shock, he had forgotten what would come next—Asch's voice.

_"Hey, dreck. What are you doing out there in the cold all by yourself?"_

"Shut up! It's none of your concern!"

_"You must be lonely,"_ Asch taunted. _"Why not visit the others?"_

"What do you want from me?!"

There was a pause. Luke waited in tense silence, doing his best to cope with the pain. Asch gave a snort of impatience. _"I want you to go see your _friends!_"_

With his last word, another wave of pain gripped Luke. He moaned, falling forward onto the sand. Then he stood slowly. Panic overtook the noble when he realized that he wasn't moving on his own. "A-Asch! What are you--?! Why can't I--?!"

Asch sighed again. _"I thought you liked your friends. Let's pay them a visit, shall we?"_

Luke walked all the way into the shop and banged the door open. The keeper turned to him grouchily. "Hey, it's you again! Get out of here, kid! I've got a business to run he--"

Luke watched in pure horror as Asch ignored the man and unsheathed the sword Luke wore across his back. Through him, Asch was going to--! Luke tried to cry out in protest, but Asch seemed to have a grip on_his_ throat as well, and Luke couldn't do _anything._With two neat swipes, the man lay dead, and Luke was utterly astounded. He had never seen anything so gruesome in his entire _life._He had killed countless monsters himself, but this was different—he was—that man was—_breathing_ just four seconds ago! Alive! Luke shook violently, and Asch's grip on him seemed to fade. Luke fell to his knees, sobbing. _ He_ had done this! Not Asch—he, Luke fon Fabre—had killed a man that had been_ alive. _Luke could not process anything beyond the body and the crimson liquid that stained his blade.

The door to the inn behind him clattered open, and none other than Jade, Anise, and Natalia appeared. The girls gasped at first, and Natalia darted to the man's side. She checked for a pulse, but of course there _was_ none, Luke could have told her that. The princess stood, speaking, but Luke could hear nothing that was said. Others had awakened, and soon a cluster of the merchants and travelers that had been staying at the inn had formed in the lobby, all chattering to themselves rapidly. Natalia looked straight into Luke's eyes, shouting and yelling for all she was worth as Jade did his best to restrain her. Luke just shook his head slowly; he heard her, but he was not_listening._Even Anise was against Natalia. And then--

Without warning, he came back. Asch swelled in Luke's mind again and, sword still in hand, lashed out at the Fon Master Guardian. Anise shrieked and jumped aside, and the crowd dissolved instantly. Jade stepped forward, and the last thing Luke saw before passing out was a flash of green.

* * *

Thanks to Medomai (Apakoha) for betaing! 


	13. Onward to the Zao Ruins

**Disclaimer:** I don't own rights to the game, the characters, anything—as much as I wish I did.

Thanks to all who gave me ideas for this fic

**A/N:** Lucky 13. Enjoy. :)

I'll shut up now.

* * *

Luke wasn't sure how long it took him to awaken. The only thing that told him he was even awake was the splash of cold that was splayed across his brow. It dripped down to his ears, and he grunted. His first instinct was to sit up, but a firm hand appeared on his chest. Luke opened his eyes too quickly and was blinded by the morning sun blazing through the window at his bedside. 

"Ah, it seems you'll live after all," Jade said happily. He removed the damp towel from Luke's forehead and proceeded to wring it out over a basin.

"What... Where am I?" asked the noble groggily.

"Currently, we're in the middle of a desert," Jade stated.

Luke gave a heavy sigh. Slowly, he began exploring the reasons _why _he happened to be in the middle of a desert, and it didn't take long for him to recollect the entirety of the previous night's events. He gave a horrified whimper. "D-Did I really...?!"

Jade was silent.

"I-I killed someone?!" He sat up, but Jade didn't stop him. "I...I..."

The colonel grabbed Luke's shoulder suddenly. "Luke, get yourself together. It wasn't your fault."

"B-But I--!"

"Even if it was an unnecessary death, you couldn't have helped it."

"But--"

Jade huffed quickly. "Luke. If you're going to survive, you're going to have to get used to killing humans. This may not be the best situation from which to learn that, but if you're going to be of any help in Akzeriuth, you have to realize that human life is not eternal."

Luke was stunned. "Jade! How could you--"

"I don't mean to sound cruel." Jade lowered his voice. "But if you don't get over this, you'll always be afraid. If you're always afraid, you'll hesitate, and if you hesitate, you'll die."

He was silent for a moment. Finally gathering the right words, Luke uttered a response. "Jade... Do you care about me enough to tell me all this?"

Jade grinned triumphantly. "But of course. If you died, we'd be in a mess of trouble with Kimlasca."

"Gee, thanks."

"My pleasure." Jade's smile faded as he changed the subject. "By the way, do you know who it was that was controlling you?"

"Wait, how did you know it wasn't me?" Luke sputtered.

Jade fixed his glasses thoughtfully. "I could tell. You were struggling the whole time, and I know you wouldn't do such a rash thing in the right frame of mind, anyway. I'll bet Dist did something to you at Choral Castle... Here, did I injure you when I knocked you out?"

Luke allowed the man to pull back his mess of red hair enough to view the lump that the spear had given him.

"Hmm..." Jade whispered to himself. "I could have done better."

"Where are the others?" Luke asked, ignoring the minor welt.

"Natalia and Anise are speaking with the late innkeeper's son," he answered. "It seems they're more or less stalling for you to feel well enough to walk. What do you think?"

Luke swung his legs over the bed. "I'm fine. Let's get out of here."

"Just one moment, Luke." Jade held up a cautionary hand just as Luke stood. The redhead halted. Jade sighed, working out the best way to word the point he had to get across to Luke. "Luke, do you know who it was exactly who Asch the Bloody is?"

Luke hesitated, then replied. "He's an Oracle Knight. One of the Six God-Generals."

Jade nodded slightly. It was as he expected. "No, I mean...Do you know_who_ he _is_, personally?"

Luke looked confused, and when no answer came within a few seconds, Jade shook his head. "Ah, don't worry about it. Shall we see how the women are faring?"

"Yeah... sure." Luke gave him a faraway nod, then headed to the door. Jade followed slowly. Yes, he had to be right about Luke—but how would he tell him? Until he had more information, he decided it would have to wait. After all, speaking with people on a normal level definitely wasn't one of his strong points.

Immediately, Jade and Luke heard the girls' conversation with the innkeeper's son—or rather, their argument.

A husky male waved a finger before the Fon Master Guardian warningly. "I want you four out now. That brat's a danger to everyone around him!"

"How rude! To think, depriving a young noble the right to have a simple place to recover! It's completely unreasonable!"

"Even if he deserves it," muttered Anise, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah," continued the boy, "That kid's a murderer! Y'couldn't trust him with a herd of rappigs!"

Natalia raised a hand decisively. "Silence. As princess of Kimlasca, I order you to—"

"Ha!" The boy sneered. "Who do you think yer foolin'? You ain't no princess, and he ain't no noble! Besides, our companies are individually owned—the government ain't got no part in on our work. You couldn't stop us if you tried!"

"Now, wait just a moment!" she retaliated. "You have no right to talk to me that way! All we're asking is room and board until Luke recovers enough for us to depart! We're even offering to pay double the price you're asking for a night, and you still refuse us?!"

"Lissen, missy," the boy started. "I don't care who you are, who the kid is, or anythin'. I want you out of my sight immediately!" He pounded the ragged wooden counter top, upsetting several half-empty mugs of alcohol.

Jade made his entrance, Luke close behind him. "Good morning, everyone. Luke is up and about, and it seems we can head off to the Zao Ruins as soon as possible."

The three others present turned to them. Anise ran to Luke, hugging him violently around his middle. "My poor Luke! Does it still hurt? I'll make the mean old princess heal you! She didn't do a very good job last night, anyway!"

Natalia looked indignant beyond words. "Well! I healed him the best I could with a certain Fon Master Guardian hanging over him the whole time muttering about health problems and how much she loved his money!"

Jade grinned in amusement at Anise. She fumed, countering sternly. "If you were a good enough healer, you wouldn't be so easily distracted!"

"Okay, okay, that's enough." Luke shoved Anise away, then turned to Jade. "So, we're going to the Zao Ruins to look for Ion after all?"

"It would be best to look," Jade pointed out, "Though I'm sure whatever it is they wanted him to do has been taken care of, we can at least look around. It shouldn't be too hard, seeing as though they have the Tartarus, so if we get to the ruins and it's not there, we'll move on to Chesedonia after stopping back here for any supplies we may need."

"Hey, wait!" blurted the innkeeper's son. "Yer not coming back here! I want you out right now, and I never want to see yer faces again!"

Jade smiled. "Then I suppose it would be in our best interest to play along. He might pop a vein if we don't, though his idle threats are rather amusing."

"What did you say?!"

"Come along, children!" Jade guided the others out the door, leaving the irate teenager behind to send more mugs to the floor with his incessant beating on the counter.

"He reminds me of a certain someone," Jade observed.

Luke shot him a vile glare, but Jade quickly finished. "Yes, he reacted exactly as Dist would have."

Anise giggled. "Yeah, I wonder if he has a revenge journal, too."

"Most likely." Jade adjusted his glasses in the most sophisticated manner he could manage. "Right then, if we're adequately stocked, shall we head out?"

"Sure." Luke nodded.

"I suppose I can forgive Luke for last night," stated Natalia. "I hate to admit it, but we do need his hand with a sword. We're likely to run into plenty of bandits along the way."

Luke froze on the spot. "B-Bandits?"

"Yeah," Anise confirmed with a sigh. "They like to dress all in white so you can't see them and hide out just outside the city so they can rob you. As soon as we get away from the Oasis, we'll see less of them and more monsters."

"Y-You mean _people? _We're going to have to fight people?"

"Well, yes, Luke," Natalia provided. "They're just common bandits—nothing too special about them. Besides, hard as it is to walk through sand as it may be, we have Jade to back us up with fonic artes, so don't worry."

"Right..." Luke looked distant nevertheless. "Okay, then let's just get out of here as fast as we can. Don't slow us down, Natalia."

"Well, I nev—"

Jade cut her off gracefully, leading her to the eastern exit of the town. "Yes, we all know you wouldn't _dream_ of it, Your Highness."

Anise chuckled again. "Yeah, let's get moving. It'll be tough in this heat, but it looks like we don't have a choice."

Jade returned a slight laugh in the same airy mood. "Indeed..."

* * *

_The stars of the night sky glistened high overhead Kaitzur. Guy followed Van hesitantly. What was he doing at this hour, anyway? If he knew the commandant, it was nothing minor; that was certain. He led him past a tall stone fence, then turned suddenly._

_"Gailardia."_

_"Yes?" he responded after a pause._

_"I know this is a bit sudden, but will you join me in the Oracle Knights?"_

_"No. Under different circumstances, it would have been possible. Luke needs me."_

_"He has his friends," said Van cunningly. "Besides, if you join me, I'll give you something no other on Auldrant can give you."_

_"...What is that?"_

_"Hod. Hod will be reborn, as will all of its residents. Your family."_

_Guy stared back at him, his expression twisted somewhere between shock and confusion. "H-How is that possible?!"_

_"I can only tell you the details if you decide to join me."_

_"Well—wait, you mean you can bring my family back from the dead? Is there even a technology capable of that?!"_

_"Yes. It was developed over seven years ago." He paused for a moment to read Guy's expression. He proved more appalled than anything, so it was difficult to tell to which side he was leaning. "Guy," he reminded him, "I know this is a tough choice, but will you do this, if not for me, then for your family?"_

_Van extended a hand to him, but Guy didn't take it immediately. Joining Van would mean leaving Luke, perhaps even fighting him, but Van was offering to now return his family to him? How could he possibly make a choice like that?!_

_"If you're worried about Luke," Van started, "Don't be. I'll take care of him, as will the others. You're choosing between your family and kin of the man who murdered them. Do as you please." Van let his hand fall when he still got no response._

_"Wait!" Guy said louder than was necessary. "Wait, Van! You...you used to serve my family. You're as much my family as they were! I can't just abandon you and everyone else. I...I'll do it. I'll join you."_

"Master!" Guy snapped to reality with a start. He glanced down to the bouncing cheagle on the floor below him. He shook his head, looking around the room. Still on the Tartarus, but now with Ion. Right, that's what had happened.

"Master!" Mieu repeated, grabbing at his pants leg. "Master, I have to tell you a secret!"

"Hey, slow down, Mieu!" he said with a smile. "Now, what is it you have to tell me?"

"I saw them! They climbed out when we stopped!"

Guy's features became severe. "Wait, who? What happened, Mieu?"

"The others! Luke and Jade and everyone! Asch was there, too!"

"Did he leave as well?"

"Nope! He was letting them escape! You have to tell Ion, Master!"

"Wait, wait, wait," Guy said, holding a hand to the excited cheagle's face. "You mean Luke and the others escaped with Asch's help when we stopped earlier?"

"Yes, Master!"

Guy rested his brow in his hand. "What on Auldrant was he thinking?!"

Mieu looked up to him sadly. "I don't know, but he looked really nervous the whole time. Mieuuuu..."

Guy stood from the chair. "Thanks, Mieu, but Ion, Largo, and Sync are in the Zao Ruins... They should be back soon."

"What about Legretta?"

"That's a good idea. I'll report to her first, then." Guy made his way to the door on the opposite side of the room and entered the hall, Mieu hovering near his heels. He muttered something to himself about getting lost again.

As he rounded a corner, he nearly ran into an Oracle Knight. The soldier jerked back, giving him a haphazard salute. "Gailardia, sir! Is there any way I can be of assistance?"

"Yes, actually. Would you lead me to Major Legretta's chambers, please?"

"Right away, sir!" The armor-clad figure spun on his heel and returned to the hall from which he had come. He halted before one of the doors to their left and knocked harshly. "Major Legretta, ma'am! Sir Gailardia requests an audience with you, ma'am!"

"Right. Send him in."

"Aye, ma'am!" He opened the door, then stepped aside, saluting again. Guy closed the door behind him and stepped forward. Legretta's office was as he had expected it to be: utterly immaculate. Four trim bookshelves stood in easy reach, alphabetized and fitted perfectly. Her desk bore many stacks of papers, but each was carefully labeled and organized.

"You needed to speak to me?" she ventured. Her voice was edged with impatience, though she didn't appear busy; every last pen and document was in its place.

"Yes, ma'am," Guy began. "I have heard some rather interesting information recently."

"Oh?" The major raised an eyebrow.

"It seems Commander Asch aided the captives' escape while we stopped to restock at the Oasis."

Legretta straightened urgently. "Is that so? How did you obtain such news? Did you see him?"

"No, ma'am. I was just heading back to my quarters from breakfast at the time. I had allowed Mieu to come with me, and he claims to have heard something and sneaked off without saying anything to me on the way back."

"I see." She relaxed slightly. "The Fon Master is due back momentarily. I will pass the message on as soon as I can. I thank you for your help."

Guy prepared to respond when Mieu, seeing the comment directed at him, added, "It was nothing!"

Legretta glared down to the monster. "Tell me, Gailardia. Why is a creature such as that in your presence?"

"It's a long story," said Guy sheepishly.

Legretta grinned down to him, her sharp mind all ready searching for every possible way to exploit the little cheagle's every last ability. "It would make an excellent spy if we could train it."

"He can take orders pretty well. The Sorcerer's Ring makes sure of that," Guy admitted, kneeling to pick Mieu up.

"Ah, so that explains why it can speak a human language. May I see it?"

Guy slipped the gold ring from Mieu's body and handed it to the woman, and he winced at the close proximity of her hand to his. Luckily, she didn't notice. She turned it over scrutinizingly, finally letting her gaze rest on the outer rim. "This is a fon verse written in Ancient Ispanian. It's a catalyst for fonic artes."

"It appears so," observed Guy, "Do you think that's what's been allowing Mieu to breathe fire?"

"What an intriguing little trinket. You should put it to better use, Gailardia. I can hardly see it serving any purpose around the middle of a cheagle." She handed it back to him. "Unless, of course, you can't use fonic artes."

"Me? Fonic artes? No, I never have been the studious type."

"I see..." She extended her hand again. "If that's the case, then I shall see to it that it is used only by those that need it."

"But if you take the Sorcerer's Ring, Mieu won't—"

"Yes, I know. What does that thing have to say that's of any value, anyway? It will speak when I wish it to."

Guy gave her a hard glare, then reluctantly deposited the slim ornament in her gloved palm. He turned to the young monster by his side. "...Let's head back to our room now, Mieu."

He agreed cheerily. "Mieu mieu mieu!"

* * *

Luke was still uneasy from the previous night's events as the small group made its way through the howling desert winds. They walked in silence, and every second of it sent his unstable mind in a panic as to what they thought of him. As collected as they had presented themselves, he couldn't stop wondering. He was almost frightened by his sudden shock into intense paranoia.

Jade, of course, had shown no particular contempt towards him, but there was no guessing what went on in that man's head, anyway. Anise utterly ignored him, and he was actually glad; if anything, she made for the easiest read of the three. That meant one less to worry about. Natalia still seemed mad, but how much so? She had always been tough on him and his unruly habits, and he didn't expect her to let up on him, especially with what he had done... Luke shook his head violently to rid himself of the painful memory. His meek endeavor failed, and that same slash of blood burned itself into the back of his eyelids again and again. With a pitiful whimper, he tried not to glance at the chest of his coat where the evidence was still visible. He would destroy the damned thing if he had to, but he knew that a trivial thing like an article of clothing was certainly not what was causing him to dwell on_ that._

But it wasn't his fault! He clenched a fist somberly. No, but it _was_his fault—any murder was the fault of the man whose blade was bloodstained. And there it rested, stoically taking its place across his back, the devil that told him he was a killer, a criminal, a—

He suddenly halted and flung the thing aside. It landed with a soft thud on the sand a few feet away, and Natalia turned to see what had happened.

"Luke? What are you—"

Jade and Anise turned at the sound of Natalia's voice. The colonel looked mildly interested while still glum. "Luke? Are you tired of carrying that already?"

Luke remained silent for a moment. Hesitantly, he began to speak, but his little hope of forming any coherent sentences was lost under Jade's quietly searching gaze. "I...can't."

"Oh." Jade narrowed his eyes. "Are you still upset about that?"

"What is it?" Anise chimed in.

Instead of answering Anise, Natalia approached Luke comfortingly. "Luke, are you still upset over that man?"

"How can I not be?!" He roared, pushing her away. "I just...I just..._killed_ a_person!_ Do you have any idea what that _feels_ like?! And now he's dead, and there's no way to bring him back, and—"

Before he could continue, Jade stepped up to the noble and gave him a quick slap.

Luke's rant immediately changed direction. "What the hell was that for, you bastard?!"

"Luke, listen to me," Jade said calmly, "When you travel outside cities, you will cross paths with those that wish to kill you. Whatever their motivation may be, they would do anything to have you dead on the spot. By saying you're afraid to kill people, you're saying you would do anything to avoid fighting—and that includes dying. Would you throw away your life just so you didn't have to kill some anonymous thief?"

Luke's hands trembled. "I—"

The colonel continued tactfully. "I...never learned what it means for living things to die. I suppose that's why I can pursue my job as a soldier as I do. Since you were raised in comfort, away from the real world, I suppose it's to be expected."

"Yes," Natalia added, "Ordinary people have to fight to live. They're forced to live their lives inside a safe city behind safe walls, and if they have to leave it, they'll travel together under the protection of a handful of guards. Sometimes even children have to fight to survive."

Luke still stood there, carefully digesting the information. They were telling him to just stop feeling sorry for himself, weren't they? As if he hadn't heard that his entire life! So yeah, he knew there were people a lot worse off than he was, but that didn't mean he could just shrug it off like it was nothing! Maybe Jade could heartlessly slaughter any man standing on the face of Auldrant, but Luke fon Fabre certainly couldn't!

"If you don't want to fight, you don't have to." Jade turned sharply on his heel, then nodded to Anise and Natalia. They followed him, but Luke remained in place.

"Wait—"They turned to him, and Luke finally looked up. "I'll fight. I think... If it's kill or be killed, I really only have one choice." He retrieved his weapon and held it in front of him, letting the sand-dulled sun flash off of it. He slid it into its sheathe decisively. "I'll fight."

"Very well," concluded Jade. He looked eastward to the Zao Ruins flickering in the heat of the air, and just beside the heap of rock sat a familiar landship.

* * *

"Fon Master, you should slow down. You're still exhausted from opening the Sephiroth." Largo looked down to the boy, concerned.

Ion stumbled again, grabbing onto Largo's broad coat to hold himself up. "It's nothing! I can make it to the Tartarus, then Legretta can heal me."

Sync gave a disgusted snort. "You're weak!"

"That's no way to speak to your superiors!" Ion countered angrily. "'Weak' does not matter in the game Van is playing, and I'm on his side. Is this mutiny, Sync?"

"No! How did you get that out of what I said, anyway?! I swear, just because you so happened to have—"

"Quiet, you two," commanded Largo, stepping between them. Ion lost his grip on the Black Lion's coat and nearly toppled over, but Largo turned to catch him. "Shall we rest for a moment, Fon Master?"

Ion held Sync's glare and snarled out of the corner of his mouth to Largo, "No." He would have liked a rest, no, he would have _loved_a rest, but his untimely argument with Sync would make such an action decidedly submissive. If there was one thing Van had drilled into his head years ago, it was to _never _be submissive. Submission would let his subordinates see that he could be easily swayed, they would slack off, and then they would be less submissive themselves, meaning total disorder. Disorder did not fit into the military.

They soon came to the threshold of the Zao Ruins. Even leaving the relative coolness of the cave, it was a relief to be outside again. There was no telling how long the stagnant air in the depths of the ancient city had been fermenting itself, and the only thing preventing masses of poisonous mold to grow was the lack of moisture. It was most certainly not the most pleasant place to be.

As they approached the Tartarus, a soldier dashed up to them. He saluted Ion and gave his report. "Sir! The Tartarus is ready to depart, sir!"

"Good. Is there any other news of interest?" he asked patiently.

"Sir, a small group of people are heading this way, but they are unidentified, sir!"

"That must be...! We're leaving immediately. We have no reason to linger here."

"Sir, yes, sir!"

"Is that all?"

"No, sir! Major Legretta wishes to see you, sir!"

Ion grunted slightly. "Do you know why?"

"No, sir!"

"Well that's fine. Anything else?"

"No, sir!"

"Dismissed."

"Aye, sir!"

Ion faced the two God-Generals behind him as the soldier dashed back to the Tartarus. "Let's go. The heat of the desert plays tricks on your eyes, and they could be much closer than initially thought."

"Yes," Largo agreed. Sync didn't respond; he made his way to the bridge that had been lowered from the landship and climbed aboard. The other two followed suit.

The soldier was waiting for them as they entered. Ion almost breathed a sigh of relief as the door sealed shut behind him, keeping the sweltering heat where it should be. He faced the soldier with a nod, who saluted and led him off to Legretta's quarters.

"You may announce me," he whispered.

"Aye, sir." The soldier took a deep breath and pounded on the metal door four times. "Major Legretta, ma'am! Fon Master Ion has arrived, and he is ready to hear your report, ma'am!"

There was a discreet shuffling behind the door, then her voice sounded clearly. "Right. Let him in."

"Aye, ma'am!" He opened the door, gave Legretta a quick salute, then stepped away to admit the Fon Master.

The door closed behind Ion, and the boy stood before the center of Legretta's desk.

"Fon Master," Legretta said pointedly, "It seems there has been a bit of trouble amongst our men."

"Yes, please tell."

"Apparently Asch the Bloody has released our prisoners while we were buying supplies in the Desert Oasis."

Ion's mouth twisted into a malicious grin. "I am aware of this."

Legretta raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Oh, are you, Fon Master? How did you find out?"

"I was doing my rounds just before heading to bed last night. When I came to the prisoner's cell, it was empty. That means they left sometime between yesterday afternoon and that night. There had been no guards nearby, which meant someone had to have called them off duty when the escape took place. Only a God-General or I could have given that order."

"But why did you suspect Asch?"

Ion grinned again. "As you know, at the time of the capture, it was raining quite heavily. His boots were covered in mud, so the tracks were a dead giveaway. They were too large to be Sync's or yours and too small to be Largo's, not to mention only he and Sync had even left the Tartarus."

Legretta relaxed slightly. She stared at the paperwork that littered her desk intently. "I see. I presume due punishment has been issued, then?"

"I dealt with it immediately. I threatened to put him under a Curse Slot if he didn't do as I said. I tried to have him kill that useless Fon Master Guardian, but he failed."

"Oh, you mean by using Luke?"

"Yes. It seems his control over him is remarkable. Asch will be a wonderful asset to our team at Akzeriuth."

Legretta's expression became urgent. "But Fon Master, do you doubt your own abilities?"

"It's only a precaution," he told her, "After all, Sync failed to get anyone decent with his Curse Slot at the Fubras. Though I suppose at least forcing the Necromancer to cease fighting would be a huge blow against them in any battle, he doesn't have the desire to kill anyone on their side strongly enough to use it to our advantage."

"True, but the fon slot seal will probably interfere with Sync's ability to control him."

"There's no telling how much he all ready broke through," Ion observed. "Jade Curtiss is an intelligent man, and he should not be underestimated."

"Do you think you could...?"

"No, I've considered it all ready. He truly hates Dist, so I don't think that would be possible."

Legretta nodded knowingly. "That's fine."

"Thank you, Major." Ion smiled. "If that's all, I would like to retire to my chambers."

"Yes, you may go, Fon Master."

Ion nodded to her, then stepped out the door politely. He had other matters to attend, but he did want a rest and to change his clothes. Sand clung to sweat, making deserts especially uncomfortable. It was a shame battleships weren't equipped with shower stalls, because he would have traded anything for a good shower right about then. After all the complicated mess of events playing out, he could only daydream about such luxuries as taking showers.

He reached his room shortly, as it wasn't too far from the other officers'. With a sigh, he removed his tabard and robe, grunting at the sheer amount of sand that had accumulated. With a pang of regret, he wondered just how much of it was still in Legretta's office. He hastily brushed as much of it off as he could before changing into a fresh set of robes. Sand was just so _impossible_ sometimes, he thought as he combed at least half a pound of the stuff from his hair.

His menial train of thought was interrupted by a soldier's frantic knocking on the door accompanied by an equally skittish voice. "Fon Master! Commander Asch is gone!"

Ion stumbled to the door and flung it open lividly, tabard still discarded on the floor and hair lacking its usual ornamental accessories. "What the hell?! You have to be kidding me!"

"No, sir! We've just—"

"I've_had_ it with that—that—" Ion sputtered as he stormed down the hall to the man's quarters. "That _original_," he hissed, banging the door open.

It was, as he expected, empty. Ion began a vigorous and thorough search of the room, though the only thing of importance he discovered was a few spare uniforms. He snorted venomously, thrusting the armor back into the wardrobe. "Gone!" he fussed. "When did this happen?!"

"Sir! We only just found out!"

Ion panted heavily, then slowly began to relax his taut shoulders. He never should have gotten so wound up. And that was another one of Van's almighty unwritten laws: never show your true emotions. Even Largo and Legretta were better at that than he was. He mentally beat himself over and over again, and it was a few moments before he trusted himself to speak to the soldier in a reasonable manner. "This is unthinkable," he told him. "I want the First Division off _this instant_. Tell them to find Asch and Van. I want Asch alive and Van informed of this act of treason against the Oracle Knights. Asch is a threat to our plans."

"Yes, sir!"

"And," he continued, "Get this landship moving. I don't care how you do it, but I want this thing at Akzeriuth within 24 hours."

"Yes, sir!"

"Then schedule a conference for the God-Generals as soon as you can. I need to speak with them."

"Yes, sir!"

"That is all! Out of my sight!"

"Aye, sir!"

The retreating soldier's boots clanged down the hallway and refused to waver even when he had vanished from Ion's line of sight. Ion ran a hand through his hair, frustrated. How many more times must he utterly mess things up before they arrived in Akzeriuth?...

* * *

Thanks to Medomai (Apakoha) for betaing! 


	14. Deo Pass

**Disclaimer:** I don't own rights to the game, the characters, anything—as much as I wish I did.

Thanks to all who gave me ideas for this fic.

**A/N:** Apologies for the long wait. I have the next several chapters in reserve, though, so I'll get back to updating regularly. And I won't lie to you; this chapter, while long, is mostly space filler. It had to be done. o.o

Please, for the love of Lorelei, _don't hurt me._

I'll shut up now.

* * *

The Fubras River finally came into sight. Tear gazed helplessly back toward Akzeriuth, giving Van a quick glare as she turned her head. They were so close, and no word had been sent of Luke's arrival in the town. _This won't take long_, she told herself wistfully.

Van motioned to the river. "Tear, Admiral, look into the miasma here. The recent earthquakes and close proximity to Akzeriuth are likely causing it to seep out here, too."

"Van," Tear said, "I was just here. There was an earthquake, and some miasma did appear, but it wasn't anywhere near as much as the reports from Akzeriuth described."

"Why are we wasting time here, anyway?" Cantabile added, a hint of impatience in her voice. "Help is needed at Akzeriuth! What do we care if the miasma is here, too?!"

"We may be able to track its source and destroy it," Van said coolly. "Now, you must hurry. I'll go on ahead to Akzeriuth and have the Oracle Knights aid with the relief team. Join me when you're finished here." He handed Tear a map of the area and a pen. "Mark out the area where the land is torn and make a note of about how much miasma is being emitted."

Tear took the supplies. "Fine. We'll see you in Akzeriuth, then."

"Goodbye, Tear, Admiral." Van nodded to each in turn, then took his leave.

Cantabile followed Tear into the river. There was no doubt that the miasma had gotten worse since the last time she had been there. The fact that she could feel the heaviness in the air much closer to the water's edge than she had remembered indicated that it would be at least three times as bad as it had been. That was certainly not a pleasant thought.

Suddenly, Cantabile stopped. Tear glanced back, confused, and Cantabile had her blade in hand. Tear readied her weapon just as something large and bulky hit her from behind. She tried to turn as she fell, and only when she was face up on the ground did she see the teeth of the liger.

"There you are!" Tear recognized the shrill voice as Arietta's. Of course she had to be there is there was a liger around. "I'll get you!—Uah!"

There was more movement, but Tear could not make it out from the little she saw in the corner of her eye. She watched the liger carefully. It didn't make any move to further incapacitate her, for which she was grateful.

Another voice came from near Arietta's. "Hehehehehe! Surrender before the great Dist the Rose immediately!"

Tear heard Cantabile grunt in pain, a blade bounce off of metal, and a thump as a body hit the ground.

"Tie her up! Tie her up before she runs away again!" shouted Arietta.

The liger above her growled, and Tear focused fully on him again. Slowly, she began to make sense of things. He wasn't going to attack. They only wanted to capture them. The "why" would have to come later. Tear closed her eyes and began to sing. After a few moments, the liger swayed and fell on its side. Tear pulled herself from the ground and instinctively scanned for the three God-Generals. Arietta had Cantabile, unconscious, bound to the back of another liger, but Dist was free. He approached her, and she brandished her staff, gathering fonons for another fonic arte. He made as if to grab her, and she fought back, nearly sending the man to the ground in her assault.

"Why you little—!" Dist backed away.

"Nocturnal Light!" Tear tossed three knives in his direction and missed, managing to strike his chair twice, the other embedding itself in the ground.

"Oooooh, how dare you!" he squealed. "You will pay!"

Tear directed her attention away from Dist's false threats and located Arietta. She was also glaring and cursing her from the liger's side. "You killed him!"

"What are you doing here?" Tear demanded.

"I'm going to kill you!" Arietta roared, running to her. Tear whipped her staff across her body just in time to block the attack, but Arietta managed to break through and claw at her uniform. Tear retaliated, battering the young God-General into retreat. She knew she had to run for it. It was hopeless to try and get Cantabile from their clutches, and with the other woman out cold, there was no way she would be able to get her to Akzeriuth. Tear turned and made her way back out of the river, Arietta and Dist giving chase.

"You won't get away from me!" Arietta yelled.

"Feel the wrath of Dist the Rose!" her partner added.

Tear glanced back, stumbling on the uneven terrain. They were behind, and they wouldn't catch her in time. She pressed on. Van was trying to keep her away from the city. Why...?

* * *

Luke crouched behind the rock, doing his level best to keep quiet as he watched the Tartarus. He could hear the muted shuffling of the others as they, too, tried to keep still. The large landship began to groan, then it scooted forward, accelerating quickly and speeding across the sand. Luke could make out a small group of men that it had apparently left behind. The group scattered after a while, but it was impossible to tell whether they were approaching or leaving through the rippling atmosphere.

"We need to get to Chesedonia," Jade said abruptly. Luke turned to the colonel, startled, and saw that he had stood from the cover of the rocks. Luke rose slowly, as if unsure if the coast really was clear. Natalia and Anise stood, and they went to Jade, awaiting further orders.

"That's going to be an awful long walk!" Anise said.

"How long do you think it'll take?" Luke asked.

"About a day and a half at best," Jade replied. "Even though we still have plenty of supplies, I highly doubt we'll be able to restock in the Oasis after your little episode."

Luke lowered his head. As if he had to rub it in more. Was it not enough that he had apologized to the bastard—not once but _twice? _He didn't respond; after so many verbal bouts with Jade, one learned to not answer after a while.

"Really, Colonel!" Natalia said harshly.

"I was only speaking the truth," said Jade with more seriousness than had been apparent with his earlier statement. "It's an unfortunate disadvantage. We'll have to make use of what we have and hope we cross paths with some bandits freshly stocked with stolen goods."

"Let's get going as soon as possible, then," Luke said, fidgeting slightly. Jade gave him an amused smile. "I-I mean, if you're ready."

"Of course, Luke." Jade gave a sigh of mock exasperation.

Luke hesitated, then began to walk. His companions followed closely, but he was still uneasy. Jade was so difficult to just _be_ around. Always jarring, grinning, prodding, and laughing to himself at the expense of everyone around him. That was the problem—they were all _victims_, and the only way to avoid the brunt of it was to let him have his way.

But that didn't matter. What was important was their arrival in Akzeriuth. To fulfill the Score and become a hero. Excited though he was, Luke couldn't help feeling oppressively nervous. But Master Van would be there, and he would make everything work. Luke found himself wondering if even Master Van could be subjected to Jade's ruthless sense of humor and survive gracefully. Yes, Master Van could do it easily. He could do practically anything if he wanted to. Luke couldn't wait until he had the chance to serve under him as an Oracle Knight. He could get away from that damn persecuting country and live freely. Not tied to some hunk of rock that told him what to do or waiting patiently in a storeroom for Ingobert to decide it was time to wipe Malkuth from the face of Auldrant. He wasn't meant to rot in Kimlasca. He had a future.

* * *

The First Division's search for Asch dragged on. The scorching desert sun refused to offer even a minute of reprieve, and they were quickly growing restless. Largo offered as much consolation to the soldiers as he could while still keeping them on track. After all, Ion was not the best man to work for, especially when returning to him empty-handed.

The scouts were having great difficulty finding any sort of trail or clue in the ever-churning sand. It didn't help that seemingly everything in nature was conspiring against them from their accidentally mistaking a large poisonous lizard's footprint for that of a human's and running into a nest of the monsters to the horrid wind that was utterly unbearable, with the sand being driven into their skin like a multitude of arrows. A few of the younger soldiers had even been close to literally passing out from heat exhaustion, but luckily, Largo was always conscious of his soldiers' needs and was ready with whatever supplies he could spare to keep them standing.

After two or three hours, their scope of land to cover had extended northward, still lacking any sign of Asch. Largo planned to scour the land to the Desert Oasis, then loop back up to Chesedonia. If they were having as much trouble as they were, there was no way on Auldrant Asch was going to stick around in the middle of the desert for any length of time. He would probably head to Chesedonia, or as Ion breifly mentioned, all the way to Akzeriuth. Of course, the Tartarus was already blazing toward the mining town at full speed. Largo questioned the Fon Master's strategy; had he not been in such a hurry to correct his mistakes, he would be at the very least keeping an eye out for Asch as he went. But such was not his business, so Largo went back to pondering his own problems, the foremost of which seemed to be not finding Asch itself but keeping his men in decent health. If they went down, he had virtually no chance of completing Ion's request.

He called his second in command to him quietly. The man looked up from his careful search, grateful for the break, and he jogged over to Largo.

"Sir."

"You may give the order to lay off the search for the time being. We're not going to get anywhere at this rate."

"Yes, sir."

"We'll rest in the Desert Oasis before we continue. We're running low on supplies. Dismissed."

"Aye, sir.

The soldier retreated, giving his orders to his subordinates quickly. Largo sighed, kneading his brow pensively. He was well used to the desert, but even he was beginning to falter. What they all needed was a good rest, though if he knew Ion well, the young Fon Master would expect them at Akzeriuth at the same time he himself arrived there. It was impossible to do on foot. Never mind Akzeriuth; Van and Ion could take care of that. He just needed to find Asch. Maybe he could ask around when they reached the oasis.

It wasn't as far as they anticipated. The First Division had grown so used to the slow pace that had been established to search that they didn't realize how little time it took to cover an area of ground that before would have taken over twenty minutes.

Largo addressed his company calmly. "You may buy any supplies or weapons you wish to have save alcohol, but I advise you to save your money for Chesedonia. Other than that, you may rest at the inn and relax until nightfall, then we'll resume our search. Am I clear?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Dismissed."

"Aye, sir!" The platoons dissolved into a rush of bodies struggling to get into the town first. Largo shook his head sadly. Of all circumstances, Ion had put both he and his troops under some of the worst conditions, and he would do all he could within reason to ease their pain.

He made his way to the inn first. The inn seemed to be the only real structure in the whole area, and it would likely serve as the general pub as well. There was always plenty of information to be gathered from a pub if one knew how to go about obtaining it.

The building was rather small, and he had to push his way through a crowd to make his way to the receptionist. He was a boy in his late teens, apparently, and his unruly air disgusted the older man. Such a mess only degraded his potential, but he knew that was nothing he should have been concerned about. He was there for a reason, and his only required skill to do his job would be to hand out keys to people and count money. Such a waste.

"Excuse me," he began, "I have something to ask you, if you don't mind."

"What is it?" The boy's voice was edged in a rude whine.

"I was just wondering if you had seen a man pass by here. He's about this high—" Largo held a wide palm just below his chest to illustrate his point. "—and he has long, red hair that comes almost to his waist. Have you seen him?"

The boy's face twisted into a frown. "Did I see 'im? Did I _see_ 'im?!" His voice rose in volume as he stood from the worn old stool situated behind the counter. "That murderin' bastard killed my father!"

Largo looked surprised. "Are you certain?"

"By the Score I'm certain, old man!" he shouted, drawing the attention of the crowd behind them. "He came in here and killed 'im right before my eyes!"

"I'm very sorry about that," said Largo, playing along to the best of his ability. He knew Asch could get angry, but nothing would push him to pointless violence—besides, the inkeeper's son didn't seem all that sorry about it, either.

"Are you with him?" the boy asked, eying the tall man suspiciously.

"I am a colleague of his, Largo the Black Lion, God-General of the Oracle Knights of Daath. I serve Dorian General Grants and Fon Master Ion. I have been sent to retrieve Asch the Bloody by Fon Master Ion," he responded with more formality than he knew the fool before him could comprehend. Either way, it was not his place to point out the rashness of others.

"Are ya? Well, I'll be watchin' you, too, and yer men."

"That's fine. I can assure you, they will do nothing to cause upset here."

"Whatever, old man."

"I bid you good day, then." Largo nodded stiffly and turned to leave. As much as hardheaded youths irked him, he had to deal with it calmly, otherwise he would be at fault just as much. He sighed again. With the ground they needed to cover from there to Chesedonia, it would be a long night.

* * *

By the time they got to Chesedonia, Luke was exhausted. He stared through the colored stalls and waving merchants blankly. The other three, as far as he could detect, were in no better shape, despite their hiding it much more efficiently than he did. To his dismay, leaving the desert and entering the city did little to staunch the heavy tide of sand being blasted into every fold in his clothing by the wind.

"We made it," he commented, stating the obvious and celebrating at the same time.

"I'm starving!" Anise announced.

"I believe we all are. Let's see if we can make it to the food stalls." Jade took the lead. Luke groaned at the thought of fighting the crowds just to reach the shops and purchasing things from peddlers uproariously advertising their goods.

"I'm more tired than hungry. Let's hit the inn," Luke offered.

"We'd likely sleep the entire day. We've been walking all night," Jade replied.

"I agree with Luke," Natalia said, "But we need to get to Akzeriuth as soon as we can."

"If we're dead on our feet, we won't be much help to them, anyway," Anise added wryly.

Jade said, "We can rest on the ferry to Kaitzur. We need to get through Chesedonia as fast as we can... Well, given the circumstances."

Luke's gaze drifted from the colonel to the busy throng beyond the border line. They cleared the mass of people that clogged the Kimlascan half of the city. The border was actually relatively vacant; there were no shops near that area, but the same congestion sprang back as the strings of Malkuthian shops began. They entered the economical battleground.

Jade was able to locate the food marketer from Engeve quickly. He bought a little of everything, then left as swiftly as he had found the place. They continued to the port, but they only encountered _more_ people—well, it made sense: all the people had to come from somewhere. Luke frowned, wondering why the hell Chesedonia even _had _an entrance that way. In fact, how did they even get the Tartarus through the city and to the other port any—wait, the Tartarus?

"Hey!" Luke jogged ahead a few steps, somehow rejuvenated in his shock. "What's the Tartarus doing here?"

"They left before us. They should be on their way to Kaitzur by now. I wonder what the holdup is." Jade spoke calmly but with the same tone that indicated that he did know the reason.

"Well, things have been pretty stiff around the borders," Natalia said, "A landship under Malkuthian colors approaching from a little-used entrance is definitely suspicious."

"Look! It's Ion!" Anise sprang from the group, dashing to the Fon Master before anyone could stop her.

"Anise! What are you doing?!" Luke ran after her, blindly shoving men out of his way.

Anise halted at the group's side, breathless. Ion regarded her with a happy smile and a simple greeting.

Luke approached, slowing his run to a stop as he came to them. He, too, was panting. "Ion, what are you—"

"Get away from the Fon Master," Sync growled, stepping between them.

Jade appeared from the curtain of bodies, followed by Natalia. Sync glared at him.

"We shouldn't cause a scene here," Legretta said bluntly.

Sync curled a lip contemptuously. "You four can have Ion if you don't cause any trouble here."

Jade matched Sync's disgusted stare evenly. "Agreed."

The God-General stepped out of the way, allowing Ion to join them. He paused, concentrating hard for a moment, then said to Legretta, "We're leaving now."

They boarded the Tartarus, disappearing from view. Luke looked form the back of the landship to its commander confusedly.

"They sure gave him up easily. They must not need him or have already gotten their use out of him," Jade provided.

"Ion! I'm glad you're back! I was so worried," Anise cheered, hugging the boy tightly.

"It's good to see you, Anise," said Ion.

"Well, Fon Master? What did they do to you?" Jade prodded.

"They took me to the Sephiroth."

"What could they possibly want you to do at the Sephiroth?" Natalia asked.

"I'm sorry. That's confidential to the Order." Ion sighed helplessly.

"Excuse me," Luke interrupted snidely. "Anyone care to explain?"

Natalia obliged. "The Sephiroth at the world's ten most powerful fon slots. Fonons gather easily at those sites. They're where the Passage Rings that control the Planet Storm are located."

Luke nodded slowly, not following but accepting the explanation anyway. "Right."

"Shall we be going now?" Jade asked politely.

"Yes. I'm very tired," said Ion.

"Me too. I'm ready for a good, long nap," Anise mentioned.

Jade grinned to them, amused. "Sounds wonderful."

* * *

Sync shook his head. Legretta released a held breath.

"You couldn't get through?" she asked.

"No. Not even when he was standing right there."

"You'll get through soon enough."

"Strange." Sync ran a hand through his spiked hair thoughtfully. "I can't exactly describe it, but whenever I tried to get into him, I felt something blocking me. It was too steady and strong to be his resisting, though."

"Do you think the fon slot seal I placed on him has anything to do with the Curse Slot?"

"That's the only thing I can think of," Sync admitted. "It does interfere with the fon slots, so it's not surprising that it would block the Curse Slot, too."

"Fascinating," Legretta mused. "Though knowing the intensity of the seal, it will take months or even a year to wear off."

"Damn it!" Sync pounded a fist into the metal wall of the Tartarus.

"It can't be helped," Legretta said blankly.

"I'll force my way through," Sync swore, storming off down the hall to his room. "That damn Necromancer won't get the best of me if I can help it."

* * *

Ion sighed, letting the papers he'd been handling fall back to the desk. He had succeeded in covering every spare margin on the notes from Van in nonsensical doodles. Ferries were just so boring sometimes—the luxury cruise ships at least had some forms of entertainment, but in an average one, it was a heck of a lot different. If one wasn't hungry or content to stare at his reflection in the water for hours, he was completely and utterly bored the entire time. Ion glared down at the notes, dissatisfied with his ability to draw. Such a trivial thing was really no matter, though. He sighed again and stood, preparing to pace the cabin once more. With a frustrated grunt, he thought better of it and pushed the door open. A change of scenery would at least give him something different to stare at, which was better than nothing.

It was, to his disappointment, a rather bland day. The air had cooled, and the sky was cloudless. He walked up to the rail of the ship, turned, and leaned back against it. He almost wished he had some paperwork or other monotonous chore to do. He closed his eyes solemnly.

As hard as he tried to force himself to think of something pleasant, his thoughts returned to Van again and again. He hadn't made contact with the commandant since they had split up at Baticul, and even though he had known it would be like that beforehand, it was still difficult. With everything going on the way it was—the Sephiroth, Akzeriuth, Asch—circumstances could turn at any moment, for better or for worse. Though, with the ever-shifting roles between Van, the God-Generals, and himself, it had finally settled favorably for the Fon Master; his mission now was only to relay the message to Luke from Van regarding Akzeriuth, but he would wait for just the right moment for that, lest the noble become suspicious. It was unlikely, but a risk not worth taking.

"Hey, what's up?"

Ion started at the voice, his eyes snapping open. "Oh, hello, Luke."

"What are you doing out here by yourself?" he asked.

"Just watching the sky," the Fon Master replied blandly.

"With your eyes closed?"

Ion snorted lightly. "I was... I only closed my eyes for a minute."

"Whatever you say." Luke heaved himself up the rail and balanced on the top bar. "I'm bored as hell of this ship."

"It's not so bad when you think about it. Fresh air, the sea breeze, and good food..."

"Only if you enjoy those kinds of things," Luke muttered. "The food isn't all that great, you know."

Ion gave a quiet, throaty growl. He really was impossible, and he had a way of making any innocent statement turn into an outright obnoxious one. But then again, he did seem to be in a relatively decent mood—perhaps it was time to tell him Van's message. He decided to probe further, making sure it would be permissible. "Say Luke, have you seen the others around?"

Luke leaned back on the rail dangerously far. "Anise and Natalia were in the cafe, last I checked. I haven't seen Jade, though."

It would have to do. "Luke, I have something I want to tell you. Would you mind coming to my cabin for a minute?"

"Huh? Sure." He hopped to the deck deftly. Ion led him to his room.

Ion entered first, and upon seeing the notes still sprawled on the desk, he moved to pick them up. Inwardly, he cursed his mistake. He glanced at Luke's face just long enough to confirm he hadn't gotten a glimpse of the messages, then neatened the stack of papers and slid it into a drawer below the desktop. That had been too close.

"So, what is it?" Luke asked.

"Well... Van wanted me to tell you something."

"Master Van? You talked to him? Where is he?" Luke looked suddenly excited, leaning forward dramatically.

"He sent me a letter. He said you would be better off hearing it than reading it in his own words."

"...Is it about Akzeriuth?"

"Part of it."

"Oh... What is it, then?"

"Do you know the entire Score pertaining to Akzeriuth?"

"Something about me bringing prosperity to Kimlasca and stuff. Why?"

"'...There, the youth will turn power to calamity and be as a weapon of Kimlasca,'" Ion recited. Luke's eyes widened. "'...destroying himself and the city. War shall thereafter persist between Kimlasca and Malkuth for a full cycle of seasons.'"

"Wait, it's just like you said—about me being used as a weapon of Kimlasca!" Luke sputtered, incredulous. "Does that mean... Wait, does that mean I'm... I'm going to die?!"

"No, Luke. If you listen, I'll tell you how we're going to avoid it."

"But the Score..."

"Minor deviations are as nothing before the Score," Ion said. "The Score says that you will evacuate the villagers, destroy the city and yourself, and cause a war. All you have to do is get rid of the miasma without moving the villagers."

"That's impossible!" Luke protested.

"Hyperresonance," said Ion simply.

"Hyperresonance?" he parroted.

"Destroy the source of the miasma at the Sephiroth, and it will disperse. The people won't have to leave, and you won't have to die."

"That's how I'll become a hero? What about the peace treaty?"

"After your feat at Akzeriuth, I'll call a meeting for the powers of the world to come to an agreement of cease-fire," Ion told him.

"And then I'll be a hero..." A dazed look came over Luke. "Ion... How come you're doing all of this for me?"

"Ah, Luke," Ion began falteringly. "You must have forgotten that along with the rest of your memory... Seven years ago, you underwent cruel experiments for the sake of hyperresonance research. The rest is mostly secondhand accounts from Van, but he said that you had told him how much you wanted to run away from Kimlasca. That's why he kidnapped you."

Luke's amazement only grew. "You mean Master Van kidnapped me? Not Malkuth?"

"Yes." Ion nodded. "I helped him. I had to aid him with... transport and safe passage, if you will."

"Wow..."

"Luke... After you save Akzeriuth and form the peace treaty, will you join me in Daath?" Ion extended a hand, making sure that the motion seemed cautious enough so as to lead him to think he really was unsure of what his answer would be. "As an Oracle Knight, you could serve under Van and help the Order."

"Of course I would!" Luke said eagerly, grabbing Ion's hand. "For you and Master Van... I'll join you!"

Ion smiled warmly to him. "I'm happy for you, Luke. We need you."

"Ion... Thank you." Luke grabbed Ion in a quick hug. Ion grinned.

The sound of a low horn boomed, and Luke released the boy. "Looks like we've arrived. I'll head back to my room and get ready to leave. See you, Ion!"

"Goodbye, Luke." Ion waved to him as he left, but as soon as the door closed, he slumped down to the chair.

* * *

"We can't be very long here," said Jade as the group stepped from the ferry to Kaitzur's port. "The path to Deo Pass is mostly flat terrain, but it won't be easy."

"Right." Like nodded, only halfheartedly listening; his mind was still on the talk with Ion.

"Hear that, Ion? Be careful," Anise warned.

"I know!" he responded.

"Let's hope we can get there soon," Natalia added. "We're quite late as it is."

Luke walked to the front of their small party. "We don't have any time to waste. Let's go."

They gave him silent nods and followed when he headed to Kaitzur's eastern entrance. It was sure to take several hours at best, but they had to make it by nightfall—camping out in the open was not a good idea, as Jade had so kindly reminded them the last time they had crossed the Rugnican Plains. He would not stop, even for Deo Pass, though—Akzeriuth lay ahead.

* * *

As the group approached the rocky mountain trail, they paused a moment to gaze at it. The worn path that ran up into the hills was in better condition than it could have been, especially after many years of disuse. In several places, unstable rock looked as if it was about to tumble down at any second.

"Wow. It's a lot taller than I thought it would be," Luke observed.

"It's going to be a rough climb," Natalia said.

"It's almost dusk. We should camp here and press on in the morning," Jade said calmly.

"No. We're running late as it is," Luke protested. They were so close. A few hours would have them at the other end of Deo Pass.

"I'm kind of tired, Luke," Ion spoke up.

"Ion needs to rest. Come on, Luke." Anise half-begged, half-whined as she tugged on the noble's coat.

"Just a few more hours!"

"I'm afraid not," Jade interjected. "We stop here for today. Now, let's get a fire going. Anise, gather some wood, if you don't mind..."

"Hey!" Luke groaned.

"Sure thing, Colonel! Ion, you stay here with the others." With that, Anise bounded off to do his bidding.

"Shall I cook something for everyone once we get a fire going?" Natalia offered.

"No way!" Luke had given up the battle to move on, but he was alerted by the words spoken by the princess—whenever Natalia set out to cook, disaster ensued.

"Why ever not, Luke?"

"You'll have everyone gagging for hours," he pointed out irritatedly. "Let someone else cook."

"Well! You speak as though you can do worlds better!"

"Better than you can!"

"Now, now, kids," Jade said, chipper. "I'd be honored to serve two gracious Kimlascan nobles' tongues."

Luke made a disgusted face, managing to appear shocked at the same time. "You'd probably poison it or something!"

Jade's light smile never faltered. "I can't make any promises."

Luke stared at the placid man's amused expression for a moment before turning his back to him and making a sourly cooperative noise. "Tch. Do whatever you want."

"I knew you'd see it my way, Master Luke."

"Shut up!" Luke spun to face the older man. "And stop calling me 'master'! Coming from you, it's just... wrong!"

"But of course, Master Luke."

Luke gritted his teeth, frustrated. Jade sure didn't want to pass up any opportunity to make him look like a fool.

Anise reentered the camp bearing an armful of dry branches and twigs. "Here you go, Colonel!" She dumped the load to the ground and dusted off her hands resolutely. "There was a lot around here. I even got some broken fenceposts, too."

"Excellent job, Anise," Jade praised. "Now, let's see how the food situation is..." He retrieved the traveling bag from where it had been deposited on the ground when they stopped. He peered in, carefully prodding each food item before selecting a healthy cut of rappig meat and a loaf of fine bread. "Any objections?"

"That'll be fine, Colonel," Anise said.

"That looks good to me," added Natalia

"Oh! Rappig is one of my favorites!" cheered Ion.

Jade tilted his chin in the remaining person's direction. "Luke?"

"I don't care," he murmured sullenly.

"Wonderful." Jade crouched to sort through the kindling. He tossed some of the smaller pieces into a pile to be lit, and he picked three that were slender but supple enough to bear weight and arranged them into a rough spit for the meat. He chanted the incantation for a fire arte, then loosed a small flame to light the twigs.

"Wow, Colonel! You really know what you're doing!" Anise cooed, admiring the impromptu device.

"It's nothing special. You're in the Oracle Knights; you should know at least a few skills for cooking in the wilderness."

"Actually, Jade," Ion cut in, "Fon Master Guardians only follow the Fon Master, and I never have to go camp out in the wilderness, so they're not taught things like that. But you are correct in saying the regular soldiers are."

"It's not that great," Luke muttered, insistent on adding his two gald in everything. "All he did was stick a branch in the ground."

"_Skillfully_," Jade pointed out. He turned the meat and checked it before allowing the other side to sear.

"Uh-huh."

The camp grew silent save for the popping of the rappig and the crackling fire. Jade began to hum softly, seeming very pleased with himself. Suddenly, Anise stood, gazing off into the bushes past the light of the campfire.

"Hey, did you guys hear something?" she asked urgently.

Natalia readied her bow and strung an arrow. "I thought I did."

"Wait, what're you—" Luke went to the Fon Master Guardian, but she shoved him back.

"Be quiet!"

"Hey!"

The leaves rustled again, and they seemed to move. Not just the individual leaves but also the plant in and of itself. Luke frowned. It was just a trick of the firelight.

Anise continued to stare, concentrating very hard. She grabbed Tokunaga and swung him under her, letting the doll swell to its full size.

Natalia loosed a single arrow at the plant. She quickly nocked another one before the first even hit, but when it did, the plant _definitely_ moved. It surged toward the camp.

"Dragon Rush!" Anise met its charge fiercely. Her doll buffeted the monster back while Natalia fired off even more arrows.

"Storm Edge!"

"Whoa!" Luke fell back, startled. He grappled for his blade, having little success. Ion jumped up, concerned, and at just that moment, one of the plant-monster's spindly arms reared back, smacking Ion to the ground. Ion moaned and stumbled back, cradling his bleeding arm. Luke rushed past him, sword drawn at last.

Luke battered the monster as hard as he could, but it was simply so huge that his blows hardly did anything. Add that to its tough, bark-like armor, and the fight was next to hopeless for him. He recoiled from a parry, and at nearly the same time, he heard Jade yell, "Everyone! Out of the way!"

Luke hesitated, then dodged back along with the others.

"Turbulence!"

The powerful wind ripped through the monster's thin appendages, snapping its branches clean off. It wailed, then fell on its back, dissolving into a burst of fonons, the spell thrusting them up into the night like millions of miniature stars.

Luke was breathless. He stuck his blade into the ground next to him, too tired to stand up to sheathe it. He turned to Jade with admiration.

"Thanks, Colonel," said Anise sheepishly.

"Yes, thank you, Jade. You saved us," Natalia added.

"It was nothing, really." Jade's voice held no ring of sarcasm. "Now... The food looks to be about done. Let's eat."

No matter how many times Jade could so casually change the subject, Luke could never get used to it. It annoyed him to no end. He took his portion of the meal quietly.

"Ion! You're hurt?!" Anise noticed the Fon Master's bleeding arm and rushed to him.

"I'm okay. Really, Anise—"

"No arguments!" She reached into the traveling bag, producing an apple gel and a roll of gauze. She handed him the medicine. "Natalia, would you mind...?"

"Of course not," she said, approaching the pair. "O soothing light... Heal!"

Luke allowed his mind to wander from the idle banter that followed. So much time wasted. It was killing him to be that close to Akzeriuth. They would have to wake early and set out as soon as they could to make it there by noon. That is, if he wasn't slowed down by a certain Fon Master any more.

* * *

The next morning bore fair weather. Luke awoke to everyone else seated around the fire Jade had started the previous night, now rekindled and lit, as they ate leftover rappig for a quick breakfast. Luke sat up, stretching.

"Ah, you're finally awake, Luke." Ion smiled benevolently. "Are you ready to get going?"

"No... Let me wake up first, at least," he replied crankily.

"For one who was so eager to dash off into the night, you sure don't seem to be in a hurry this morning," Jade observed.

"Can it, gramps." Luke reached over to the iron pan in which the food was heating. He made an attempt to carefully pick one piece out, but he failed, his thumb brushing against the lip of the pan. He drew it back with a yelp, squeezing his hand to his chest and cursing all that was good and holy.

"Luke! Don't say such things!" Natalia fussed, glaring at him.

"Shut up!"

"Well, we ought to get going. It's going to be a long trek to Akzeriuth." Anise rose, helping Ion up as well.

"Indeed." Jade gathered the supplies that he had set out and repacked them into the bag, standing.

Natalia strung her bow and strapped on her quiver, declaring, "I'm ready."

"H-Hey, wait!" Luke sputtered, still clutching his hand. "I haven't eaten yet!"

"Your point being?" Jade looked at him with a sickeningly genuine, questioning expression.

"You know damn well what my point is!" Luke jumped to his feet, shaking a fist at the colonel.

Ion looked very worried. "Please don't fight, Luke! We can wait for you to—"

"Don't bother, Ion," Anise interrupted. "He can eat while he walks."

"Shut up, Anise!" the noble spat.

"Well, you were the only one twitching in agony at the thought of sitting still for ten seconds, Luke." Jade shrugged, unconcerned. "But now you want us to wait. Kids these days are _so_ indecisive..."

Luke seethed in anger, unable to form any coherent words. He could tell it would _not_ be a good day. They were just playing him for a fool, poking fun for the hell of it... No, they were poking fun to make him look like an idiot, because that was precisely what Jade _lived_ for.

"Luke? Here, let me get the food back out for you..." Jade unslung the bag and rested it on a rock, digging through until he found the remaining two strips of meat, still warm. He offered them to Luke.

Luke simply growled in disgust, stomping off ahead of him.

He heard Jade sigh and tie the bag again, throwing it over his shoulder. "Then _don't_ eat," he intoned, no longer amused.

No one spoke as they made their way up the rugged hills. Luke grew more and more angry at them just for that reason in itself—they were silent because of _his_ bad mood, he knew, not because they didn't have anything to say. They were laughing at him. If they _tried _to speak, it would end in their giggling at his—how would Natalia put it?—"childish" behavior. He would act as "childish" as he wanted. That was the _only_ way to get his point across to them.

As he breasted another small hill, he paused. He could hear the others panting behind him—well, all save Jade. He gazed out into the distance to see if he could spot Akzeriuth, but all he saw was a huge smear of purple mist. It sprawled over the countryside just beyond where the path through Deo Pass ended. He could even make out the trail that must have been from the Malkuth side: it, too, had been completely blocked off by the miasma. Off to one side of the enormous cloud, he noticed a darker spot in the shape of a rough circle. He frowned, wondering what it could be—unless, of course, _that_ was Akzeriuth—it was, after all, a mining town. He had never seen the city before, but he _had_ imagined it as a large pit in the ground. Was there really that much more of the miasma... _inside_ the city? There was no way in hell there could be survivors if that stuff was as deadly as his uncle said it was!

"Lost?" It was Jade, standing directly behind him.

Luke jerked around. "No."

They continued grimly. Luke inwardly groaned at each slide down a dusty hillside that left smudges on his coat and shoes. After a while, he even had to pause to brush out his hair with his hands as much as he could until Anise decided to hand him her hairbrush, smirking. Luke knocked it aside, stormed off, and grunted with frustration at her snickering. What was her _problem_, anyway?

He grew aware of the air thickening as they descended. He blinked rapidly, trying to slough off the nagging, almost tangible threads of miasma in the atmosphere. After several minutes, however, he gave up, focusing on the more important task that lay ahead.

The revival of Akzeriuth. He could do it. Master Van would be there, and Ion would be there. He was the scion of Lorelei's power: a hero.

It wasn't long before the outer fringe of Deo Pass gave way to the plain that led to the abyss of miasma that was Akzeriuth.

* * *

Thanks to Medomai (Apakoha) for betaing!


	15. Eye of the Storm

**Disclaimer:** I don't own rights to the game, the characters, anything—as much as I wish I did.

Thanks to all who gave me ideas for this fic.

**A/N: **Hooray. Lots and lots of special thanks to Medo for _extended_ betaing on this one.

I'll shut up now.

* * *

As Luke entered the city, he felt his insides twist in fear. The miasma was so incredibly thick he felt like he was trying to breathe in liquid. In the city, people had collapsed from inhaling the mist, the able darted from building to building as they transported as many as they could to safety.

"Hey! There's room in the storehouse! Bring them over this way!" A man waved to several others carrying two men. They ran past Luke, who stepped out of the way to let them through, stunned.

"Oh, are you the relief team from Kimlasca?" The man approached him, wiping grime from his forehead with a soiled cloth. His face was red from exertion. Just looking at him made Luke feel uncomfortably warm.

"Er... Um..." Luke inched away from him, sending frantic glances over his shoulder.

Natalia dashed up from behind him. "Yes," she said. "We're here to help in any way we can."

"My name's Pyrope," he provided. "The mayor fell ill, so I'm looking over things in his place."

"We're here to meet up with Master Van!" Luke finally blurted.

"Yes," Natalia said, ignoring the rudeness of Luke's comment. "Have you seen an Oracle Knight named Dorian General Grants or Locrian Sergeant Grants?"

"He passed by on his way to Tunnel 14," Pyrope replied.

"Where is that?" Luke asked urgently.

"Tunnel 14 is on the lower level. You'll see it. It's clearly labeled, just like the rest of the tunnels." Pyrope turned back to Natalia. "You're free to use the rest facilities that have the room. Thank you so much for coming. We need all the help we can get."

Natalia bowed. "It's no problem at all. We're happy to be of aid to your people."

"Even from Kimlasca..." Pyrope looked bewildered. "Well, I have to go. I'm sorry."

"It will be fine here. Don't worry." Natalia watched the man run off to attend another party of rescuers returning with the wounded.

"We have to hurry." Jade wasted no time doling out orders. "Natalia, come with me to Tunnel 14. Anise, you stay on the upper level and help where you can. Luke—" Jade fixed him with a hard gaze. "You are to remain here as well. Help Anise keep an eye on Ion."

"Wait!" Luke and Anise shouted simultaneously.

"I have to see Master Van! Jade...!" Luke stared at the colonel , shaking. All of this death around him... And he had to see Van if he was to ever save them all!

"I want to come, too," Anise protested. "Besides, it'll be a lot worse down there, and you'll need the help, especially if there are more injured people down there than you think."

Jade looked pensive, then said, "Fine. With all this commotion, the last thing we need is unwilling workers in any area."

Luke allowed himself to relax for a moment. He was far from _really_ being relaxed, but relief from one issue was the best he could hope for in the circumstances.

He followed Jade through the forsaken city. He descended down a staircase hewn of the native rock, loosely gripping the wooden handrail. He almost slipped in a puddle of water. With a sickening lurch of his stomach, Luke looked down and realized that the water wasn't water at all. It was blood. It had pooled in a shallow spot on the step, but the edges of it were smeared thinly as though a body had been dragged up the stairs.

"J-Jade?" Luke stood frozen to the spot, lifting his foot from the rock. "What— How—"

Jade looked over his shoulder. "It's from the miasma toxicosis. When too much of it gets into your lungs, it can get through and taint your blood by fusing to blood-fonons. The extra mass of the particles can thicken the blood and cause vomiting. When that happens, it's a sure sign that the heart can't last much longer. It takes a lot to pump that sludge anywhere, as you can see." Luke grew paler, shuddering uncontrollably.

Slowly, Luke let his foot drop, making sure that it landed on the next lower step, outside of the puddle of blood. He forced himself to keep moving, to think about Van and Ion, _anything_ but the mess of disease that surrounded him. It was too much to bear. He made an effort to keep his eyes directly on the path before him, at his feet, watching to make sure... He avoided another pool of crimson liquid carefully. It was everywhere.

The entrance to Tunnel 14 was as barren as the others. The group had to step out of the way of another team of nurses as they rushed from the depths of the tunnel. Natalia looked after them, worried.

"Perhaps I should stay behind. I'm a Seventh Fonist, I might be able to—"

"We need you with us, Natalia," Jade said sternly. "If one of us gets poisoned, we'll need someone to heal it immediately."

"You're right." She nodded.

Luke was completely mute as he trudged into the tunnel. The lanterns that ran along a line down the middle of the ceiling leaked amber light into the cloud of poison that swallowed them. The walls so carefully carved from the stone were spattered with blood in some places. The passage was only high enough to allow someone to walk through comfortably. It was so dark, and the rock above looked like it was about to crash down on them at any second. Luke wanted to help the people, and he wanted to be a hero, but none of those feelings could compare to cold, bare _fear_.

Desperate calls reached them from all angles as they progressed. There were miners trapped on every level, Luke realized with a start. There was no way to get them all out alive. He glanced at the mangled elevators along the path. The whole place itself looked like it had been shifted, buckled—an earthquake, maybe. The miasma only appeared in the Fubras after the earthquake, so why not here, too? It must have been enormous—several caves were blocked off entirely.

He noticed Natalia and Anise break off from the group to help people, passing them onto the more able miners' backs when they could, to be taken back to the surface.

Jade seemed to be searching for something else—some_one_ else. Was he concerned about Van? Luke stayed close by the colonel, hesitant to stray from him lest Natalia catch him slacking on his job to help the wounded... But he couldn't heal them, anyway! It didn't make any difference. She hadn't even noticed Jade's odd alertness, even. Something strange was going on, and it wasn't just the miasma.

Jade suddenly halted. "A Sephiroth. Just as I expected." Luke peered from behind him to the glowing door etched into the rocky wall down a short passage.

"The... Sephiroth?" Luke parroted.

"One of the world's ten most powerful fon slots." Ion trotted up from behind them.

"I-Ion!" Luke jumped. All this, and did he really need rogue Fon Masters sneaking up on him, too? "Wh-where were you?"

"I'm sorry, Luke. I was helping Natalia with some trapped men, but Anise told me to come back to you two to rest," he said simply.

"Are you all right, Fon Master?" Jade asked.

"You mean the miasma? Yes. It is pretty bad down here, but I'm doing fine for now." Ion approached the door. "What are you looking for, Jade?"

The quiet, thoughtful look never left Jade's face. "Ion, you—"

"Ah, Fon Master, Luke. Good to see you made it safely." Van smiled to the three calmly.

"M-Master Van!" Luke practically tripped over himself running to greet the commandant.

"Van. You're here." Ion gave him a nod.

Jade cast a wary eye over the Fon Master. "Ahem. Yes, it's good to see you safe and sound, Dorian General."

"Colonel Curtiss. I never expected to meet you here." Van gave him a decidedly unfriendly glare. "Why are you near the Sephiroth?"

"I should ask you the same thing. There are men in need of your help, General."

"They are no more in need of my help than they are yours." He looked down to Luke fondly. "Did the Fon Master tell you what to do? Are you ready?"

Luke nodded vigorously. "Yes, sir!"

"Where is your sister?" Jade aimed the question at Van harshly.

"I sent Tear to verify the legitimacy of the Seventh Fonstone found at the Fubras River."

"It's been found?" Jade was astonished. "When was this?"

Van breathed deeply, tensely. "It was only discovered a few moments ago. She'll be a while with her report, so don't worry about her for now."

"Jade!" Natalia's cry came from further down the other passage—the one leading away from the Sephiroth. "Luke, anyone! Help!"

"Princess? Is that you?" Van bellowed over his shoulder.

There was no reply.

"I'll go see about her." Jade gave Van and Ion one last hard look, then ran off after Natalia.

"Now, Luke," Van began proudly, "Are you ready to become a hero?"

"Yes, Master."

"It's in here." Ion faced the radiant door. He held forth both hands, closing his eyes to concentrate. A ring appeared in the center, spun from right to left, more and more rapidly, then shattered, the light beyond the ring fading. Ion staggered but caught himself on the wall. "...The last one."

Van gave Luke a gentle nudge, and the redhead stepped through the door.

What met him was nothing like what he expected. He anticipated another passage, more lanterns, and more miasma, but the room the door guarded was far from that: pillars of deep purple sprang from the long spiral path that led down to oblivion. Rows upon rows of softly luminescent blue panels lined the walls, and Luke suddenly felt like he had been taken to the top of a tower, its windows showing nothing but blue sky in every direction. Glyphs of pale golden musical scores ran along the bottom and sides of the path. It was absolutely stunning.

"What is this place?" he managed, unable to tear his eyes from the sight.

"This is the Sephiroth," Van provided, continuing down the path. "It was built two thousand years ago when the Planet Storm was created."

Luke nodded, trailing behind him automatically. What had looked like a shining veil of nothing below became more of the ramp, and to his surprise, a solid floor that led to another door.

Beyond that door was even more curious scenery. A slender path of bright, twitching strings of glyphs wound around the base of a large fonstone. The entire area was illuminated by countless memory particles swirling up from the translucent orb. Luke approached the fon machine in a daze. What kind of room it was, he had no idea. There were no walls to speak of, not counting the strip of one that held the door, and... no ceiling or floor. The passage simply went up and up and down and down, and it gave Luke a sick feeling to think of what would happen should he—_anyone_—fall into that vast... nothing.

Van stood directly before the fonstone. A pedestal in front of him moved, its top sprawling open. He took the top halves in his hands, holding it as he would a book. A small wheel of glyphs appeared at his fingers, and he began to input what must have been a series of codes. "Good work, Fon Master," he said.

"I was merely following orders, Van."

Luke looked even more confused, if that was possible, until Van took his arm and led him to where he himself had just been standing. The time had come; Luke swelled with pride at the thought of being a hero.

"Listen carefully, Luke." Van held the boy's shoulders firmly. "Close your eyes."

He did so.

"Now, Light of the Sacred Flame, show me your power. The power of Lorelei."

Luke subconsciously held up his arms. It was just like on the Tartarus. He felt as if he was floating, just listening and doing. Not thinking. Never thinking.

Ion's voice appeared next. He must have moved closer, because it was significantly louder than even Van's. He felt his breath close to his face. Ion spoke slowly and deliberately. "Luke... This is your chance. Open every fon slot in your body. Now, draw in the Seventh Fonons—just like that. You've got it..."

Luke inhaled deeply, then exhaled. He could feel the fonons—the power—so freely fluttering around the hovering fonstone. Never had he felt anything so clear and dangerous, much less so... untamed. It was all just there, waiting to be taken, to be used for anything.

Van spoke again. "...And summon forth the power of Lorelei. Hyperresonance."

He could feel Ion's hair brush against his ear. The Fon Master hissed one last command.

"Now. Foolish replica Luke."

* * *

"Jade!" Tear burst from the tunnel, gasping for breath. She spotted the colonel crouched over a body. He looked up to her.

"Tear! What's going on?"

Tear halted, struggling to catch her breath. Two large eagles careened down the passage from behind her and past the two. Another form came running after the birds. Tear pointed to him fervently. "Asch told me! Van's going to do something horrible!"

"Slow down, Tear!" Jade stood, placing an arm around her chest to stabilize her.

"Van's trying to protect me from what he's going to do! He wants to destroy Akzeriuth!"

"What?! Damn him!" Jade glanced at the open door to the Sephiroth, then back at Tear. "Tear, you stay with Natalia! I'll see what's going on at the Sephiroth!"

"No! I'll come, too!" she protested.

"Tear! Listen to me!" Jade's argument was cut short—Tear was not paying attention. She was hard at work healing the other Seventh Fonist. Natalia began to stir.

"Are you all right?" Tear asked, trying to keep her voice as calm as possible, but it proved an impossible task.

"I... think so," Natalia replied groggily.

"I'll carry her." Jade knelt next to her, startling Tear. "Please. Just go to Van."

"All right." Tear stood and left, dashing to the door to the Sephiroth. She nearly halted at the abrupt change of scenery. An eternity of fontech separated her from her murderous brother. She had to keep going.

It took her a sickeningly long time to pound her way to the door nestled under the ramp. Finally, she burst into the Passage Ring room.

"Van! What are you doing?! You said you'd protect these Outer Lands!" Tear shouted.

"Mystearica... One day you'll come to understand the folly and ugliness that is this world. I want you to live... At least long enough for me to see you come to your senses!" He whistled, and one of the eagles hoisted him up onto its back, soaring upward as the ground beneath it jerked and pitched, breaking itself apart. "And you, Asch!" Van turned his attention to the Oracle Knight that stormed in after Tear. "I told you to stay away!"

"Too bad!"

"I can't afford to lose you, Asch. Nor can you die here, Fon Master."

"Van..." Ion glared up at the commandant venomously. "He is more important to our plans! You know that!"

"Mystearica!" Van called. "You have the fonic hymns! Use them!" He spun again, whistling for the other eagle. It pounded its way through the miasma-ridden air, clutching the neck of Ion's robes as it passed him.

"What are you doing, you fool?!" Ion roared. "Save Asch, not me!"

"Asch will not die here... As long as Tear wishes to kill me, she will do all in her power to save herself." He gazed at his sister intensely. "Yulia's second fonic hymn."

Tear closed her eyes and began to sing. Foolish as her brother was, she wasn't stubborn enough to refuse good advice. Jade, carrying Natalia, called, "Anise! Asch! Get closer!"

The world was falling.

* * *

The first thing he felt was warmth. The growing heat was soothing, but it soon became too much to be pleasant. Luke squinted, then gave up trying to see altogether, turning away from the blinding sphere of light that had formed. It extended from his outstretched arms, the roar of fonons and memory particles deafened him, and the next thing he knew, obsidian glass was pouring from the fonstone, slitting his flesh to ribbons. The force of the explosion pushed him back, but the fonons pulled him forward, he couldn't breathe, and then he was thrust to the edge of the path, hanging between the wretched nothing below and the painful splinters of glass above. There was too much light, too much heat, and his fingers burned, slipped, and he was falling, falling, falling, spiraling into the void. The fonons rushed upward, the sky fell downward, and he was stuck in some kind of weightless limbo between reality and sensation. Everything blurred—oh, the pain, anything to relieve the pain, _please!_--and a torrent of shocking agony racked his torn body when he hit the solid ground, searing pain bursting along his spine.

Then everything hurt tenfold, the pressure—what he could feel, he was sure—was _excruciating_, and he couldn't move for the life of him. He couldn't feel his legs, and with a speculation he _really_ didn't need just then, he hoped faintly that they were still attached to his body. He could tell his arms were, at least, by the fractured mess of pain that made up his fingers—what was _left_ of them.

And damn it all if he was _still_ falling... sinking_._

He sobbed, mind blank—there was nothing _to_ cry about. Nothing. Darkness closed in over him, and he couldn't get half a breath in before he went under, the life being wrenched from his body as he counted his final heartbeats.

_ I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I...I want to stay here! I want to __**live!**_

* * *

Thanks to Medomai (Apakoha) for betaing!


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